^^iSfoF?mi?^ 


'^LOG-CM.  SfM]0> 


OLD 

TESTAMENT 
HEROES  * 


Joshua,  and  the  Land  of  Promise 


F.  B.  MEYER'S 

Biblical  Expositions 

NeiAj  Popular  Edition 

The  International  Leaders*  Library 

ly  ^volumes.     Each,  net ^oc. 

"Mr.  Meyer  is  unsurpassed  in  recent  times  in 
his  faculty  of  helpfully  and  interestingly  adapt- 
ing studies  of  Biblical  characters  to  modern 
needs.  His  work  does  not  consist  of  mere  pious 
moralizing,  but  it  is  the  product  of  a  man  evi- 
dently of  scholarly  habits  and  attainments,  and 
in  close  and  practical  touch  with  the  life  of  the 
people  of  the  day." — The  United  Presbyterian. 

OLD  TESTAMENT  VOLUMES 


Samuel  the  Prophet. 

Zechariah  :  The  Prophet 
of  Hope. 

David :  Shepherd, Psalm- 
ist, King. 

Jeremiah  :  Priest  and 
Prophet. 

Joshua,  and  the  Land  of 
Promise. 

Moses, the  Servant  of  God 


Abraham  ;  or,  The  Obe 
dience  of  Faith. 

Elijah  and  the  Secret  of 
His  Power. 

Israel,  a  Prince  with  God. 

Joseph:  Beloved, Hated, 
Exalted. 

Christ  in  Isaiah.   Exposi- 
tions of  Isaiah  XL.-LV. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  VOLUMES 


Paul:  AServant  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

John  the  Baptist. 

The  Way  into  the  Ho- 
liest :  Expositions  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews. 


The  Life  and  Lifht  of 
Men.  Expositions  of 
John  I.-XII. 

Love  unto  theUttermost. 
Expositions  of  John 
XIII.-XXI. 

Tried  by  Fire.  Exposi- 
tions in  the  First  Epis- 
tle to  Peter. 


"Orderly  in  plan,  cumulative  in  force  and 
powerful  in  the  spiritual  persuasiveness  with 
which  they  illustrate." — The  Congregationalist. 


F.r£>.  V  .-.  ^<0^^^  '>^^*i^ 


OLD  TESTAMENT  HEROES 


aV 


JUN  T><1912 


/^A 


JOSHUA,  AND  THE 
LAND  OF  PROMISE 


BYTHE 

Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer,  B.A. 

Author  of  •  The  Shepherd  Psalm,"  "  Tried  by  Fire,"  "  Elijah," 


etc.,  etc. 


New  York      Chicago      Toronto 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literatvire 


Copyright, 

1893, 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company. 


PREFACE. 


THE  best  way  to  vindicate  the  Bible  is  to  preach  it. 
Each  book  contains  within  itself,  sometimes  in  cypher, 
the  autograph  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Every  page  has  the 
water-mark  of  Heaven.  And  a  patient  consideration  of 
the  contents  of  Scripture,  as  of  the  book  before  us,  will 
leave  a  stronger  impression  of  God's  authority  and  author- 
ship than  any  number  of  external  evidences. 

In  addition  to  this,  and  altogether  apart  from  the  spiritual 
lessons  that  may  be  derived  from  a  devout  study  of  Old 
Testament  Scriptures,  there  accrues  to  the  thoughtful  mind 
an  ever-deepening  conviction  that,  instrumentally,  they 
date  from  the  pens  of  contemporary  historians.  It  is  im- 
possible to  believe  that  a  writer,  after  the  return  from  exile, 
could  have  told  the  story  with  the  vividness,  the  realism, 
the  minute  life-like  touches,  in  which  it  is  presented  to  us 
in  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  per- 
spective of  time,  many  things  that  bulk  largely  to  their 
contemporaries  are  dismissed  as  unworthy  of  notice,  whilst 
general  principles  are  discussed  to  the  ignoring  of  details. 
But  the  reverse  of  these  meets  us  in  every  paragraph  of  that 
wonderful  series  of  books,  of  which  the  story  of  Joshua  is 
one. 

This  study,  in  which  the  scenes  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan 
are  narrated  again  with  such  help  as  modern  investigation 
affords,  may  thus  confirm  the  wavering  faith  of  some.     But 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

my  main  object  has  been  to  bring  out  the  wonderful  parallels 
between  the  story  of  this  book  and  the  experiences  of  the 
Church  and  the  individual  Christian — parallels  so  minute 
and  precise  as  to  establish  with  added  force  our  faith  in  the 
Bible  as  one  book,  the  production  of  one  mind,  which  "  at 
sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  "  has  spoken  to  men. 

In  writing  this  book,  I  have,  amongst  other  works,  read 
Dean  Stanley's  " Jewish  Church " ;  "Joshua,  his  Life 
AND  Times,"  by  Rev.  W.  J.  Deane;  "The  Book  of 
Joshua,"  by  H.  F.  Witherby ;  "  The  Fullness  of  Bless- 
ing," by  S.  F.  Smiley ;  and  other  smaller  books :  to  all  of 
which  I  gladly  confess  my  obligations. 

F.  B.  MEYER. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.  The  Book  of  Joshua 7 

II.  The  Divine  Commission 17 

III.  Three  Days'  Pause 26 

IV.  Passing  the  Jordan 35 

V.  The  Stones  of  Gilgal 45 

VI.  Three  Successive  Days 55 

VII.  The  Warrior  Christ 64 

VIII.  The  Walls  of  Jericho 74 

IX.  Arrest  and   Defeat 84 

X.  The  Valley  of  Achor 94 

XI.  Ebal  and  Gerizim 105 

XII.  The  Wiles  of  the  Devil 113 

XIII.  A  Memorable    Day 122 

XIV.  Claiming  Victory 131 

XV.  Rest  in  the  Heavenlies. 140 

XVI.  Land  to  be  Possessed 150 

XVII.  A  Veteran  Comrade 159 

XVIII.  Receiving  and  Reigning 169 

XIX.  The  Conclusion  of  the  Task 176 

XX.  Life  in  the  Land 185 

XXI.  Take  Heed  to  Love! 193 

XXII.  Evensong 201 

5 


JOSHUA: 

AND  THE  LAND  OF  PROMISE. 


S[|)ie  Book  of  Ios|)tia. 

"  What  if  Earth 
Be  but  the  shadow  of  Heaven, — and  things  therein 
Each  to  other  like,  more  than  on  earth  is  thought ! " 

Milton. 

THE  order  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  is  due 
to  something  more  than  human  selection,  or  even  the 
period  of  their  composition.  The  same  Spirit  that  origi- 
nally inspired  them  has  manifestly  controlled  their  position 
in  the  sacred  Book.  Gefiesis  begins  with  God,  and  leads 
us  back  to  the  origin  of  that  divine  grace  which  strives 
against  human  sin;  loves  man  before  ever  there  is  aught 
in  man  to  warrant  it ;  and  binds  itself  by  a  covenant,  **  or- 
dered in  all  things  and  sure."  Exodus  tells  the  story  of 
redemption ;  Leviticus,  of  worship ;  Numbers,  of  our  posi- 
tion in  the  ordered  ranks  of  God's  army ;  Deuteronomy,  of 
that  more  spiritual  conception  of  the  law  of  God  which  is 
produced  by  love  and  faith ;  and  the  Book  of  Joshua  is 
r.a  indispensable  link  in  this  chain  of  symbolical  teaching. 

7 


8  THE  "BOOK  OF  JOSHUA. 

Finally,  the  history  of  the  soul  may  be  traced  through  the 
disorder  of  Judges  to  the  royalty  of  the  Kings ;  and  on- 
ward to  the  hallelujahs  of  the  Psalms^  and  the  prophetic 
visions  of  the  following  books. 

There  is,  then,  a  special  inner  meaning  in  the  Book  of 
Joshua,  which  cannot  be  exhausted  when  we  have  learned 
from  it  the  story  of  the  extermination  of  the  Canaanites ; 
of  the  partition  and  settlement  of  Canaan;  and  of  the 
noble  simplicity  and  military  exploits  of  Joshua.  It  is  im- 
possible to  suppose  that  so  much  space  should  have  been 
given  to  the  record  of  these,  unless  there  had  been  some 
deep  and  holy  purpose — similar  to  that  which  has  given 
such  minute  directions  for  Levitical  sacrifice,  each  of  which 
contained  some  deep  spiritual  truth  required  for  the  growth 
of  holy  souls  throughout  the  ages.  Of  the  Book  of  Joshua, 
as  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  and  the  Passage  of  the  Red  Sea, 
it  may  be  said,  "  All  these  things  happened  unto  them  for 
ensamples." 

The  clue  to  this  inner  meaning  is  given  by  the  writer  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  third  and  fourth  chapters 
of  which  are  all-important  in  determining  the  drift  of  our 
interpretation ;  and  it  is  to  the  clearer  appreciation  of  the 
true  meaning  of  these  chapters  that  we  must  attribute  the 
increasing  interest  with  which  the  church  of  God  turns  to 
this  record  of  the  simple-minded,  transparent,  humble,  and 
strong  soldier,  the  Miles  Standish  of  the  Exodus.  If  the 
river  Jordan  stands  for  physical  death,  and  Canaan  for 
heaven,  there  seems  to  be  no  satisfactory  interpretation 
for  many  items  which  are  narrated  with  significant  minute- 
ness, ere  we  come  to  the  conquest  and  partition  of  the  land ; 
and  on  this  line  of  interpretation  there  would  be  some 
anomaly  in  associating  fighting  with  the  calm  restfulness  of 
the  New  Jerusalem. 

A  careful  study  of  the  chapters  referred  to  shows  us  that 


"HEAVENLY  PLACES  IN  CHRIST  JESUS."  9 

though  Canaan  was  not  f/ie  rest  of  God — because  he  spoke 
of  rest  through  an  unknown  temple  singer,  four  hundred 
years  after  Canaan  was  occupied — yet  it  was  a  vivid  type 
of  that  blessed  Sabbath-keeping  into  which  we  may  enter 
here  and  now.  We  are  to  fear  lest  we  "  should  seem  to 
come  short "  of  the  rest,  even  as  they  whose  carcasses  fell  in 
the  wilderness  came  short  of  the  Land  of  Promise.  *'  We 
which  have  beheved  do  enter  into  that  rest."  Our  Lord 
Jesus  has  entered  into  his  rest,  as  God  did  into  his ;  and 
has  therefore  received  the  ideal  Land  of  Canaan,  as  the 
representative  of  his  followers  to  whom  he  allots  it  as  they 
believe.  We  are  summoned  to  give  diligence  to  enter  into 
that  rest,  that  "  no  man  fall  after  the  same  example  of  dis- 
obedience." 

All  these  references  go  to  establish  the  spiritual  signifi- 
cance of  this  wonderful  story,  which  tells  of  that  satisfaction 
of  rest,  wealth,  and  victory  which  may  be  enjoyed  by  those 
who  have  come  to  know  the  secret  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  which  love  him,  and  which  are  revealed 
by  his  Spirit-  Oh  that  that  Spirit  may  use  these  chapters 
for  the  purpose  of  leading  many  of  God's  redeemed  ones 
from  the  wilderness  life  into  that  rest!  For  that  we  have 
been  redeemed ;  for  that  we  have  passed  through  the  Red 
Sea;  to  convince  us  of  our  need  of  that  we  have  been 
permitted  to  hunger  and  thirst  in  the  desert  waste ;  and 
our  possession  of  that  will  alone  convince  the  world  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  the  Christ  of  God.  We  were  indeed  brought 
out  that  we  might  be  brought  in ;  redeemed  that  we  might 
be  a  purchased  possession ;  justified  that  we  might  be  sanc- 
tified and  glorified. 

There  is  another  book  in  the  New  Testament  in  deep 
spiritual  accord  with  the  story  told  in  the  Book  of  Joshua, 
viz.,  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians ;  which  rises  above  all  its 
kin  as  the  soaring  cathedral  tower  rises  above  the  maze  of 


lO  THE  'BOOK  OF  fOSHU/f. 

architecture  beneath — on  which  it  rests  indeed,  but  whfdt 
it  crowns,  and  carries  within  its  heart  bells  that  ring  out  the 
wedding  peal.  Already  in  that  epistle  we  can  detect  notes 
which  are  to  announce  the  consummation  of  creation  in 
the  marriage  of  the  Lamb.  The  Book  of  Joshua  is  to  the 
Old  Testament  what  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  to  the 
New. 

The  characteristic  word  of  the  Ephesians  is  f/ie  heavenlies 
(i.  3,  20;  ii.  6;  iii.  10;  vi,  12).  Of  course  it  does  not 
stand  for  heaven;  but  for  that  spiritual  experience  of 
oneness  with  the  risen  Saviour  in  his  resurrection  and  ex- 
altation which  is  the  privilege  of  all  the  saints,  to  which, 
indeed,  they  have  been  called,  and  which  is  theirs  in  him. 
It  may  help  us  to  a  better  comprehension  of  this  analogy 
between  the  "  heavenly  places  "  and  the  land  of  Canaan, 
if  we  trace  it  in  the  following  five  particulars : 

I.  Each  was  the  Destined  Goal  to  which  God's 
Purpose  led  his  People. — When  in  answer  to  the  agony 
of  his  people's  cry,  and  in  remembrance  of  his  covenant, 
the  Lord  appeared  to  Moses  at  the  burning  bush,  in  the 
first  sentence  he  spoke  he  pledged  himself,  not  only  to  de- 
liver his  people  out  of  the  land  of  the  Egyptians,  but  to 
bring  them  up  out  of  that  land  unto  a  good  land  and  a 
large,  unto  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Their 
emancipation  from  the  thrall  of  Pharaoh  was  only  prepar- 
atory to  their  settlement  in  the  Land  of  Promise. 

Some  vision  of  this  seems  to  have  shone  like  a  star  be- 
fore the  march  of  the  ransomed  hosts ;  and  on  the  shores 
of  the  Red  Sea  their  triumphant  strains  passed  from  the 
destruction  of  their  foes  to  the  mountain  of  God's  inherit- 
ance, whither  he  would  bring  them  in  and  plant  them. 

"  The  place,  O  Lord,  which  thou  hast  made  for  thee  to  dwell  in. 
The  sanctuary,  O  Lord,  which  thy  hands  have  established." 


HOLINESS,  yiCTORY,  AND  POJVER.  n 

The  plagues  of  Egypt  that  struck  the  fetters  from  the 
wrists  of  an  enslaved  nation,  the  institution  of  the  Passover 
and  shedding  of  blood,  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  and 
destruction  of  the  hosts  of  Egypt — all  must  have  been 
abortive  had  they  not  led  on  to,  and  been  consimimated 
in,  the  settlement  of  Israel  in  Canaan.  Nor  otherwise 
could  the  divine  promise  to  Abraham  have  been  fulfilled — 
"  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from  the  place  where 
thou  art  northward,  and  southward,  and  eastward,  and 
westward :  for  all  the  land  which  thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I 
give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  forever." 

Similarly,  though  so  many  of  the  Lord's  redeemed  ones 
seem  ignorant  of  it,  all  the  wonderful  facts  that  lie  behind 
the  history  of  the  Church  were  intended  to  clear  the  ground, 
to  level  the  hills,  and  fill  up  the  vales,  so  as  to  prepare  for 
the  glad  entrance  of  all  who  believe  into  the  blessed  life — 
into  an  experience  like  that  which  was  enjoyed  by  the 
Master  himself  during  his  earthly  ministry,  joy  that  must 
forever  be  a  song  without  words,  peace  that  passeth  under- 
standing, love  that  passeth  knowledge. 

It  is  remarkable  how  constantly  the  Epistles  point  to 
this  experience.  The  foundations  of  justification  are  mas- 
sively and  deeply  laid,  that  they  may  carry  the  edifice  of 
sanctification  and  blessedness.  The  apostles  do  not  write 
their  glowing  paragraphs  for  the  conversion  of  the  world, 
or  the  awakening  of  the  dead ;  but  for  the  perfecting  of 
the  saints,  and  the  unfolding  of  the  true  conditions  of  holi- 
ness, and  victory,  and  power. 

Let  me  here  solemnly  ask,  Have  you  realized  those  con- 
ditions, and  entered  on  those  privileges?  Are  you  still  in 
the  wilderness,  or  have  you  entered  the  Land  of  Promise? 
Do  you  occupy  cities  you  never  built ;  eat  of  vineyards 
and  olive-yards  you  never  planted ;  drink  of  cisterns  filled 
from  the  everlasting  hills  which  you  have  never  hewed ; 


12  THE  'BOOK  OF  JOSHUA. 

and  inhabit  houses  full  of  all  good  things  which  you  never 
stored?  Do  you  dwell  in  a  land  of  com  and  wine,  while 
the  heavens  drop  dew?  Do  you,  as  the  beloved  of  the 
Lord,  dwell  between  his  shoulders?  Do  you  tread  down 
your  enemies  beneath  shoes  of  iron  or  brass?  Do  you 
make  your  dwelling-place  in  the  eternal  God,  whilst  under- 
neath are  his  everlasting  arms  ?  Test  yourself  by  the 
promises  made  to  Israel,  which  are  types  and  shadows  of 
eternal  realities ;  and  if  they  do  not  foreshadow  facts  in 
your  spiritual  experience,  understand  that  you  frustrate  the 
purpose  of  God  in  your  redemption.  Leave  those  things 
which  are  behind  to  reach  forth  to  the  goodly  land  beyond 
the  Jordan,  apprehending  that  for  which  you  were  appre- 
hended of  Christ  Jesus. 

II.  Each  was  Impossible  by  the  Means  of  Law. — 
"  Now  after  the  death  of  Moses  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  it 
came  to  pass,  that  the  Lord  spake  unto  Joshua  the  son  of 
Nun,  Moses'  minister,  saying,  Moses  my  servant  is  dead ; 
now  therefore  arise,  go  over  this  Jordan."  "  The  law  came 
by  Moses,"  and  in  a  very  real  sense  found  in  him  its  repre- 
sentative. So  it  was  befitting  that,  when  he  died,  his  eye 
should  not  be  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated.  The  law 
of  God  can  never  become  decrepit,  or  show  signs  of  weak- 
ness and  decay.  At  the  end  of  uncounted  ages  it  is  as 
strong,  and  fresh,  and  vigorous  as  that  divine  nature  of 
which  it  is  the  expression. 

But  the  law  of  God  can  never  bring  the  soul  of  man 
into  the  Land  of  Promise ;  not  because  of  any  defect  in  it, 
but  because  of  human  infirmity  and  sin.  In  that  marvel- 
ous piece  of  self-analysis  given  us  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  the  Apostle  repeatedly  affirms  that  the  law  is  holy, 
and  righteous,  and  good ;  he  insists  that  he  delighted  in  it 


JOSHUA  AND  JESUS.  13 

after  the  inward  man,  but  he  tells  us  that  he  finds  another 
law  in  his  members,  warring  against  the  law  of  his  mind, 
and  bringing  him  into  captivity.  It  is  the  presence  of  this 
evil  law  in  our  members  which  makes  obedience  to  the  law 
of  God  impossible,  filling  us  with  disappointment  and  un- 
rest, ceaseless  striving  and  perpetual  failure.  We  must, 
therefore,  leave  the  law  as  an  outward  rule  of  Hfe  behind 
us,  in  that  lonely  valley  over  against  Bethpeor,  that  the 
divine  Joshua  may  lead  us  into  the  Land  of  Promise. 

Not  by  vows,  or  resolutions,  or  covenants  of  consecra- 
tion signed  by  blood  fresh  drawn  from  the  veins ;  not  by 
external  rites  or  by  ascetic  abstinence  from  good  and 
healthy  things ;  not  by  days  of  fasting  and  nights  of  prayer ; 
not  even  by  obedience  to  the  voice  of  conscience  or  the 
inner  light — though  attention  to  these  is  of  prime  impor- 
tance— by  none  of  these  shall  we  enter  the  land  of  blessed- 
ness. They  all  become  forms  of  legaHsm,  when  practiced 
with  a  view  of  obtaining  the  full  rest  and  victory  of  Chris- 
tian experience.  Valuable  many  of  them  unquestionably 
are,  when  the  river  is  crossed,  and  the  land  is  entered ;  but 
they  will  not  of  themselves  unlock  its  gates,  or  roll  back  its 
guardian  river.  Just  as  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  eternal 
life  are  the  free  gift  of  God's  grace,  to  be  received  by  faith 
— though  their  full  enjoyment  is  determined  by  obedience 
and  self-denial — so  the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ  is  bestowed  on  those  only  who,  in  the  absence 
of  all  merit  and  effort,  receive  it  with  open  and  empty 
hands.  We  do  not  work  up  to  our  rest-day,  as  the  Jews 
did,  but  down  from  it. 

III.  Each  was  intrusted  to  a  Representative. — It 
is  a  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  story  of  Joshua  that 
God  repeatedly  addresses  him  for  the  people,  and  bestows 


14  THE  ^OOK  OF  JOSHUA. 

on  him  what  was  destined  for  them.  "  Go  over  this  Jor- 
dan, thou,  and  all  this  people.  .  .  .  There  shall  not  any 
man  be  able  to  stand  before  thee."  "  See,  I  have  given 
into  thine  hand  Jericho,  and  the  king  thereof."  And  it 
was  for  him  to  apportion  it.  **  Thou  shalt  cause  this  peo- 
ple to  inherit  the  land  which  I  sware  unto  their  fathers  to 
give  them."  All  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Joshua,  as  the 
trustee  of  Israel,  for  him  to  administer  as  each  of  the  tribes 
came  near  to  appropriate  it  from  his  hands. 

And  in  perfect  keeping  with  this,  we  find  it  stated,  at  the 
close  of  the  seven  years'  war,  that  "  Joshua  took  the  whole 
land,  according  to  all  that  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses ;  and 
Joshua  gave  it  for  an  inheritance  unto  Israel  according  to 
their  divisions  by  their  tribes  "  (Josh.  xi.  23). 

How  perfectly  is  this  type  fulfilled  in  our  blessed  Lord! 
To  him  as  the  trustee  and  representative  of  his  people  has 
all  spiritual  blessing  been  given,  and  he  holds  it  for  us  to 
claim.  All  power  is  given  to  him  in  heaven  and  on  earth, 
that  he  might  give  us  authority  over  all  the  power  of  the 
enemy.  The  Father  has  given  him  to  have  hfe  in  himself, 
that  he  might  give  us  life  more  abundantly.  He  is  full  of 
grace  and  truth,  that  out  of  his  fullness  we  all  may  receive. 
He  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  he  might  pour  him  forth  in  Pentecostal  fullness.  He 
hath  received  of  the  Father  honor  and  glory,  that  we  might 
be  with  him  where  he  is. 

Let  us  diligently  comprehend  all  the  fullness  of  our  in- 
heritance in  Jesus ;  and  then  let  us  go  forward  to  appre- 
hend it  by  faith.  Whatever  he  has  is  in  trust  for  us.  Let 
us  claim  it!  Let  us  receive  the  abundance  of  his  grace, 
that  we  may  reign  in  this  life  through  the  one  Man!  Let 
us  beheve  that  we  receive,  and  reckon  on  it,  Uving  in  the 
power  of  what  we  may  not  feel,  but  know  we  have,  so  act- 
ing faith. 


CONQUERED  ADyERSARIES.  15 

IV.  Each  was  missed  by  Many. — Their  carcasses  fell 
in  the  wilderness,  so  that  the  generation  who  cried,  "  Would 
God  that  we  had  died  in  the  wilderness!"  did  in  fact  die 
there.  The  Ninetieth  Psalm  tells  the  tale  of  those  sad  and 
dreary  years,  when  an  unceasing  train  of  funerals  passed 
out  from  the  camp  of  Israel,  and  the  mounds  of  the  desert 
traced  the  course  of  the  guilty  and  unbeheving  race. 

Such  scenes  are  witnessed  still.  And  the  state  of  his 
Church  must  be  a  bitter  sorrow  to  the  heart  of  her  Lord. 
Notwithstanding  his  agony  and  bloody  sweat,  his  cross  and 
passion ;  in  spite  of  the  earnest  remonstrance  of  his  Word 
and  Spirit ;  though  the  fair  land  of  Canaan  lies  within  view 
— yet  so  few  comparatively  appear  to  have  realized  what 
he  intended.  All  around,  souls,  redeemed  by  his  blood, 
who  have  been  numbered  among  his  people,  are  perishing 
outside  the  land  of  blessedness  in  graves  of  worldliness,  of 
self-indulgence,  and  masterful  sin.  We  descry  here  and 
there  a  Joshua,  a  Caleb,  or  a  tribe  of  Levites.  But  the 
majority  seem  to  have  come  short.  See  to  it,  reader,  that 
you  are  not  one  of  them!      "  Let  us  also  fear." 

V.  Each  was  infested  by  Many  Adversaries. — The 
seven  nations  of  Canaan  held  the  land  with  strongholds 
and  chariots  of  iron ;  though  the  Lord  caused  them  to  be 
to  his  people  as  bread  which  needs  only  to  be  eaten.  They 
came  against  the  invading  hosts  in  all  the  pride  of  their 
vast  battalions  and  the  array  of  their  warlike  preparations ; 
but  at  his  rebuke  they  fled,  at  the  voice  of  his  thunder  they 
hasted  away. 

The  "  heavenly  places  "  also  are  not  removed  from  the 
noise  of  conflict,  or  free  from  the  presence  of  the  foe. 
Those  who  are  raised  to  sit  there  in  Christ  have  to  en- 
counter the  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness,  principalities  and 
powers  of  evil.     They  are  conquered  foes ;  but,  neverthe- 


l6  THE  'BOOK  OF  JOSHUA. 

less,  are  terrible  to  behold,  and  certain  to  overcome,  unless 
we  are  abiding  in  our  great  Joshua,  who  has  already  van- 
quished them,  and  have  taken  to  oiu-selves  the  whole  armor 
of  God. 

Thus  the  land  of  Canaan  and  the  heavenly  places  are 
one :  and  we  may  read  into  these  ancient  records  the  deep- 
est thoughts  of  the  New  Testament,  for  God  repeats  him- 
self in  many  ways. 


II. 

(Joshua  i.  7.) 

"  Only  when  thine  arm 
In  sense  of  weakness  reaches  forth  to  God, 
Wih  thou  be  strong  to  suffer  and  to  do." 

Plumptre. 

AS  Joshua  stood  on  the  threshold  of  his  great  work,  he 
jl\  was  repeatedly  bidden  to  be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage.  Some  little  time  before  the  death  of  his  predeces- 
sor, a  great  convocation  of  all  Israel  had  been  summoned, 
at  which  Moses  had  solemnly  transferred  his  office  to  his 
successor,  and  had  given  him  a  charge,  saying,  "  Be  strong 
and  of  a  good  courage ;  for  thou  must  go  with  this  people 
unto  the  land."  And  now  the  voice  of  God  reiterates  the 
charge  and  repeats  the  injunction. 

At  first  this  startles  us.  What !  must  all  they  whom  God 
uses  be  strong?  Is  it  essential  that  there  should  be  strength 
of  limb  and  muscle  in  the  physical  and  moral  constitution 
of  those  who  are  called  to  do  the  divine  biddings  in  the 
world?  Because,  if  that  be  so,  we  who  are  like  Ehud, 
left-handed ;  like  Gideon,  least  in  our  father's  house ;  or 
like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  painfully  conscious  of  weakness,  can 
never  get  beyond  the  rank  and  file  in  the  army  of  the  Lord. 
And  yet,  may  not  this  reiterated  appeal  indicate  that  the 
heart  of  Joshua  misgave  him,  and  that  he  was  conscious 

17 


1 8  THE  DIVINE  COMMISSION. 

of  his  utter  inadequacy  to  fulfill  the  great  commission  that 
was  thrust  upon  him?  Probably  he  had  never  dreamt  of 
so  high  an  honor,  so  vast  a  responsibility.  He  had  been 
content  to  be  Moses'  minister,  satisfied  to  wait  below  while 
his  master  passed  into  the  cloud  to  hold  fellowship  with 
God ;  staying  in  the  tent  to  serve  Moses  if  he  were  required, 
or  in  his  absence  to  guard  its  contents ;  jealous  for  his 
master's  honor,  when  Eldad  and  Medad  prophesied ;  glad 
that  all  the  glories  of  the  conquest  of  Eastern  Palestine 
decked  with  laurels  the  closing  days  of  the  great  leader. 

When  Moses  first  received  the  sentence  of  death  on  the 
further  side  of  Jordan,  none  could  have  been  more  deeply 
grieved  than  his  faithful  friend  and  attendant.  But  the 
thought  of  succeeding  him  never  presented  itself  to  his 
mind.  Indeed,  Moses  himself  does  not  appear  to  have 
thought  of  him  in  this  direction ;  for  we  learn  that  he  be- 
sought the  Lord  to  appoint  a  man  over  the  congregation, 
that  they  should  not  be  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd  (Num. 
xxvii.  17).  In  that  prayer  Joshua  may  have  joined,  think- 
ing all  the  while  that  Caleb,  the  Hon-hearted,  or  Phinehas 
the  priest,  or  one  of  the  sons  of  Moses,  might  take  his 
place ;  but  not  supposing  that  he  would  himself  be  called 
to  it.  His  one  aim  had  been  to  enhance  the  glory  and 
lighten  the  cares  of  Moses ;  and  he  was  too  absorbed  in 
his  master's  personaHty  to  be  greatly  conscious  of  his  own. 
r'^When  therefore  the  call  came  to  him  to  assume  the  ofldce 
/which  Moses  was  vacating,  his  heart  failed  him,  and  he 
'needed  every  kind  of  encouragement  and  stimulus,  both 
from  God  and  man.  "  Be  strong "  means  that  he  felt 
weak ;  "  Be  of  good  courage  "  means  that  he  was  affrighted ; 
"  Be  not  thou  dismayed  "  means  that  he  seriously  consid- 
ered whether  he  would  not  have  to  give  up  the  task.  He 
was  a  worm,  and  no  man :   how  should  he  deliver  Israel? 

It  is  when  men  are  in  this  condition  that  God  approaches 


"BE  STRONG!"  19 

them  with  the  summons  to  undertake  vast  and  overwhelm* 
ing  responsibilities.  Most  of  us  are  too  strong  for  him  to 
use;  we  are  too  full  of  our- own  schemes,  and  plans,  and 
ways  of  doing  things.  He  must  empty  us,  and  humble  us, 
and  bring  us  down  to  the  dust  of  death,  so  low  that  we 
need  every  straw  of  encouragement,  every  leaf  of  help; 
and  then  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  make  us  as  the  rod  of  his 
strength.  The  world  talks  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest ; 
but  God  gives  power  to  the  faint,  and  increases  might  to 
them  that  have  no  strength ;  he  perfects  his  strength  in 
weakness,  and  uses  things  that  are  not  to  bring  to  naught 
things  that  are.  If  Ehud  had  been  right-handed,  he  might 
never  have  judged  Israel ;  if  Gideon  had  been  the  greatest 
instead  of  the  least  in  his  father's  house,  he  would  never 
have  vanquished  Midian ;  if  Paul  had  been  as  eloquent  in 
his  speech  as  he  confesses  himself  to  have  been  contempti- 
ble, he  would  never  have  preached  the  Gospel  from  Jeru- 
salem round  to  Illyricum. 

Let  us  consider  the  sources  of  Joshua's  strength. 

I.  A  Faithful  Past. — "After  the  death  of  Moses  the 
servant  of  the  Lord,  the  Lord  spake  unto  Joshua  the  son 
of  Nun,  Moses'  minister."  In  his  case,  as  always,  the 
eternal  rule  held  good,  that  faithfulness  in  a  few  things  is 
the  condition  of  rule  over  many  things ;  and  the  loyalty  of 
a  servant  is  the  stepping-stone  to  the  royalty  of  the  throne. 
Of  the  Highest  it  is  said  that  he  was  obedient  to  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross;  and  that,  therefore,  God 
highly  exalted  him,  and  gave  him  the  Name  above  every 
name.  We  must  learn  obedience  by  the  things  that  we 
suffer,  ere  we  can  be  hfted  from  the  dunghill  to  sit  with 
princes. 

The  previous  years  of  Joshua's  past  had  been  full  of 
high  and  noble  endeavor.     For  forty  years,  if  Josephus  be 


20  THE  DIVINE  COMMISSION. 

correct  in  his  statement  as  to  his  age  at  the  death  of  Moses, 
he  shared  the  slavery  and  sorrows  of  a  captive  race.  His 
childish  eyes  must  have  become  accustomed  to  witnessing 
the  brutality  of  the  Egyptian  taskmasters,  even  if  his  own 
shoulders  were  not  torn  by  their  cruel  whips.  As  a  scion 
of  one  of  the  leading  families  of  Ephraim  (Num.  xiii.  8, 
1 6),  he  may  have  taken  some  leading  part  in  the  marshal- 
ing of  the  Exodus,  and  there  approved  himself  as  worthy 
of  all  trust.  His  conflict  with  Amalek ;  his  good  report  of 
the  Land  of  Promise ;  his  refusal  to  take  any  part  in  the 
disastrous  attack  on  the  Canaanites ;  his  eagerness  for  the 
good  name  and  fame  of  Moses ;  his  patient  endurance  of 
the  weary  years  of  wandering — all  prove  that  his  was  no 
common  character.  The  aloe  blooms  but  once  in  a  hun- 
dred years ;  but  every  hour  of  all  that  century  is  needed  to 
produce  the  delicate  texture  and  resplendent  beauty  of  the 
flower.  The  deed  of  a  Grace  Darling  is  not  the  sudden 
outburst  of  the  moment  that  gives  it  birth,  but  the  result 
of  long  years  of  self-discipline,  courage,  and  ministry  to 
others.  And  this  summons  of  Joshua  to  the  leader's  place 
in  Israel  was  the  guerdon  of  more  than  eighty  years  of 
faithful  service. 

None  of  us  can  tell  for  what  God  is  educating  us.  We 
fret  and  murmur  at  the  narrow  round  and  daily  task  of 
ordinary  life,  not  realizing  that  it  is  only  thus  that  we  can 
be  prepared  for  the  high  and  holy  office  which  awaits  us. 
We  must  descend  before  we  can  ascend.  We  must  suffer, 
if  we  would  reign.  We  must  take  the  via  cruets  (the  way 
of  the  cross)  submissively  and  patiently,  if  we  would  tread 
the  via  lucis  (the  way  of  hght).  We  must  endure  the  pol- 
ishing, if  we  would  be  shafts  in  the  quiver  of  Emmanuel. 
God's  will  comes  to  thee  and  me  in  daily  circumstances, 
in  little  things  equally  as  in  great :  meet  them  bravely ;  be 
at  your  best  always,  though  the  occasion  be  one  of  the 


JOSHUA'S  TASK.  21 

very  least ;  dignify  the  smallest  summons  by  the  greatness 
of  your  response  ;  so  the  call  will  come  to  thee  as  to  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun,  Moses'  minister. 

II.  A  Distinct  Call. — "Arise,  go  over  this  Jordan, 
thou,  and  all  this  people,  unto  the  land  which  I  do  give  to 
them.  ...  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage,  for  thou 
shalt  cause  this  people  to  inherit  the  land  which  I  sware 
unto  their  fathers  to  give  them."  When  a  man  knows 
that  he  has  been  called  to  do  a  certain  work,  he  is  in- 
vincible. He  is  not  unconscious  of  his  own  deficiencies, 
whether  they  be  natural  or  intellectual.  He  is  not  insensi- 
ble of  difficulty;  none  so  quick  as  he  to  see  the  great 
stones,  the  iron  gates,  the  walled  cities,  the  broad  and  flow- 
ing rivers ;  he  is  not  invulnerable  to  the  shafts  of  ridicule 
and  adverse  criticism :  but  for  all  these  he  looks  steadily 
away  to  the  declared  purpose  of  God,  and  yields  himself 
to  be  the  channel  through  which  it  may  operate. 

Joshua's  task  was  a  very  difficult  one.  The  people  of 
Canaan  were  well  versed  in  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the 
time,  acquired  from  commerce  with  the  Phoenicians  on 
the  north  and  the  Egyptians  on  the  south.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  discoveries  of  recent  years  has  shown  that 
the  Hittites  were  a  great  people,  highly  cultured,  and  of 
sufficient  importance  to  rival  Assyria  and  Egypt.  It  seemed 
preposterous  to  suppose  that  a  nation  of  a  few  years'  exist- 
ence was  so  soon  to  dispossess  nations  that  had  gained  the 
country  by  conquest  and  were  prepared  to  fight  for  every 
inch  of  territory  by  the  most  approved  methods  of  warfare. 
The  Jewish  legend  says  that  when  Joshua,  appalled  at  the 
greatness  of  the  task,  rent  his  clothes  and  fell  on  his  face, 
weeping  to  think  of  his  incompetence,  Moses  hfted  him  up 
and  comforted  him  with  the  assurance  that  God  had  fore- 
seen and  provided  for  all.     Whether  it  were  so  or  not,  it  is 


22  THE  DIVINE  COMMISSION. 

at  least  clear  that  the  reiterated  assurance  of  God  to  settle 
Israel  by  means  of  Joshua  must  have  been  a  great  source 
of  strength  to  him. 

The  supreme  inquiry  for  each  of  us,  when  summoned  to 
a  new  work,  is — not  whether  we  possess  sufficient  strength 
or  qualification  for  it,  but — if  we  have  been  called  to  it  of 
God ;  and  when  that  is  so  there  is  no  further  cause  for 
anxiety.  If  it  is  in  his  plan  that  we  should  march  through 
a  river,  or  attack  a  walled  town,  or  turn  to  flight  an  army, 
we  have  simply  to  go  forward.  He  will  make  the  mount- 
ains a  way.  Rivers  will  dry  up ;  walls  will  fall  down ; 
armies  shall  be  scattered  as  snow  in  Salmon.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  impossibility  when  God  says,  "  Forward,  soul : 
arise,  go  over  this  Jordan!" 

III.  The  Sense  of  the  Presence  of  God. — "As  I 
was  with  Moses,  so  I  will  be  with  thee.  I  will  not  fail 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  There  was  one  particular  in  which 
Joshua  would  always  come  far  behind  his  great  predeces- 
sor. Both  were  in  necessary  and  constant  communication 
with  God;  but  Joshua  had  to  seek  counsel  through  the 
high-priest,  whereas  Moses  had  enjoyed  direct  intercourse 
with  God,  "  speaking  unto  him  face  to  face,  as  a  man 
speaketh  unto  his  friend."  Still,  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun 
was  equally  sure  of  the  personal  companionship  of  his  great 
Ally,  though  he  lacked  the  direct  vision. 

There  have  been  generals  whose  presence  on  the  field 
of  battle  has  been  the  presage  and  guarantee  of  victory. 
Not  only  have  they  inspired  the  soldiers  with  a  sense  of 
confidence  in  their  leadership,  but  they  have  encouraged 
them  by  their  personal  prowess  and  bravery.  There  is  a 
marvelous  sense  of  security  and  courage  when  a  Christiana, 
a  Mr.  Fearing,  or  a  Miss  Much- Afraid  is  assured  of  the 
presence  of  a  Great-heart,  who  has  never  turned  his  back 


"I  IVILL  BE  WITH  THEE.'*  23 

on  a  foe.  And  a  lonely,  trembling  soul  dares  to  step 
bravely  across  the  margin  of  life  into  the  unknown  beyond : 
to  go  down  unabashed  into  the  chill  waters  of  death,  be- 
cause it  can  sing,  "Thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy 
staif  they  comfort  me." 

All  through  the  arduous  campaign  that  followed  nothing 
could  daunt  Joshua's  courage  whilst  that  assurance  was 
ever  ringing  its  silver  tones  in  the  belfry  of  his  memory,  **  I 
will  be  with  thee."  Ah,  it  is  well  when  we  can  so  encour- 
age ourselves  in  God!  The  fire  is  heated  seven  times; 
but  he  is  with  me,  and  no  smell  of  fire  shall  pass  upon  my 
flesh.  The  river  is  deep  ;  but  he  is  with  me,  and  its  waters 
shall  not  sweep  me  off  my  feet.  Mine  enemies  are  many, 
and  they  hate  me  with  cruel  hatred ;  but  he  is  with  me, 
and  no  weapon  that  is  formed  against  me  shall  prosper, 
and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  in  judgment  agamsc  me 
he  will  condemn.  Who  can  wax  faint-hearted  whilst  he 
holds  the  right  hand,  saying,  "  Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee!" 
The  Lord  Jesus  ever  lives  to  save  unto  the  uttermost,  and 
is  witn  us  all  the  days,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  age. 

IV.  The  Indwelling  of  the  Word  of  God. — "This 
book  of  the  law  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth ;  but 
thou  shalt  meditate  therein  day  and  night."  Words  pass 
on  to  men  the  heroic  thoughts  which  thrilled  the  souls  of 
those  who  spake  them  first.  There  are  words,  as  there 
are  strains  of  music,  which  cannot  be  uttered  without 
nerving  men  to  dare  and  do,  to  attempt  and  achieve.  A 
woman  will  be  strong  to  wait  and  suffer  for  long  years  in 
the  strength  of  a  sentence  spoken  by  her  lover  as  he  parted 
from  her.  An  army  has  before  now  forgotten  sleepless 
nights  and  hungry  marches  in  the  stirring  harangue  of  its 
general.  And  is  not  this  what  the  prophet  meant,  when 
he  said,  "Thy  words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them; 


24  THE  DIVINE  COMMISSION. 

and  thy  word  was  unto  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  mine 
heart "  :  and  what  Jesus  meant  when  he  said,  "  The  words 
that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  hfe  "? 

We  must  meditate  on  the  words  of  God,  because  it  is 
through  the  Word  of  God  that  the  Spirit  of  God  comes  in 
fullness  to  be  the  mighty  occupant  of  our  inner  man. 
This,  after  all,  is  the  secret  of  strength — to  be  possessed  of 
the  strong  Son  of  God,  strengthened  by  his  indwelHng 
might,  and  filled  by  his  Spirit. 

We  can  do  all  things  when  Christ  is  in  us  in  unthwarted 
power.  The  only  limit  lies  in  our  faith  and  capacity ;  or, 
in  other  words,  in  our  absolute  submission  to  his  indwell- 
ing. Little  children  can  overcome  when  there  is  within 
them  a  Stronger  than  their  foes.  Weaklings  may  do  ex- 
ploits when  the  Mighty  Conqueror  who  travels  in  the 
greatness  of  his  strength  makes  them  the  vehicle  of  his 
progress.  Nobodies,  nonentities,  broken  reeds,  bleached 
jaw-bones,  quills  plucked  from  the  wild-fowl,  and  arrows 
that  a  babe  could  snap,  accomplish  marvels,  because  they 
are  the  channels  through  which  the  mysterious  current  of 
divine  power  and  Godhead  flows  forth  to  the  world. 

Our  risen  Lord  is  charged  with  power.  It  is  stored  in 
him  as  in  a  cistern  for  us.  As  the  force  of  the  brain  is 
communicated  to  the  members  by  the  energy  of  the  vital 
current  flashing  along  the  nerves,  so  does  the  power  of 
Jesus  come  to  us,  his  members,  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
if  we  would  have  that  blessed  Spirit,  we  must  seek  him, 
not  only  in  the  fervid  meeting  or  in  the  great  convocation, 
but  through  the  Word,  wherein  his  force  is  stored.  Medi- 
tate on  it  day  and  night,  till  it  yield  to  thee  strength  and 
good  courage,  drawn  from  the  nature  of  the  glorified  Re- 
deemer. Thy  God  hath  commanded  thy  strength :  claim 
it  from  Jesus,  through  faith,  by  his  Spirit,  and  in  his  Word. 

Be  strong  in  your  weakness  through  the  strengthening 


THE  IVORD   OF  GOD.  25 

might  of  Christ.  Take  weakness,  weariness,  faint-hearted- 
ness,  and  difficulty,  into  his  presence ;  they  will  melt  as 
hoar-frost  in  sunbeams.  Give  yourself  wholly  up  to  him, 
to  do  or  die,  as  he  shall  choose.  Then  anoint  your  head, 
and  wash  your  face.  You  shall  have  your  inheritance  in 
Timnath-heres  (the  portion  of  the  sun) ;  you  shall  make 
your  way  prosperous,  and  have  good  success;  and  you 
shall  lead  a  nation  to  inherit  the  Land  of  Promise. 


III. 

Srijr^e  majjs*  JJanse. 

(Joshua  i.  i  i  ;  ii.) 

**  God's  fashion  is  another :  day  by  day, 
And  year  by  year,  he  tarrieth ;  little  need 
The  Lord  should  hasten. " 

Myers. 

THE  whole  land  of  Canaan  was  Israel's  by  deed  of 
gift.  As  soon  as  Lot  had  separated  from  Abraham, 
choosing  all  the  plain  of  Jordan,  and  pitching  his  tent 
toward  Sodom,  the  Lord  drew  near  his  faithful  servant, 
assuring  him  that  he  would  not  suffer  him  to  lose  by  his 
magnanimity.  "Arise,"  said  the  divine  voice,  "walk 
through  the  land  in  the  length  of  it,  and  in  the  breadth  of 
it ;  for  I  will  give  it  unto  thee.''  But,  after  that,  when  Mel- 
chizedek  had  blessed  him,  and  he  had  watched  through 
the  long  hours  with  God,  beneath  the  horror  of  the  great 
darkness,  "The  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  him,  saying, 
Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given  this  land,  from  the  river  of 
Egypt  unto  the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates." 

But  though  this  was  so,  each  square  mile  of  it  had  to 
be  claimed  from  the  hand  of  the  peoples  that  possessed  it. 
"  The  sole  of  the  foot "  had  to  be  put  down  to  claim  and 
take.  The  cities  were  theirs,  but  they  must  enter  them ; 
the  houses  which  they  had  not  built  were  theirs,  but  they 
must  inhabit  them;   the  cornfields  in  the  rich  vales  and 

26 


DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION.  27 

the  vineyards  on  the  terraced  slopes  were  theirs,  but  they 
must  possess  them.  It  is  not  difficult  for  us  to  realize 
these  things,  for  spiritually  we  occupy  precisely  a  similar 
position.  God  our  Father  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual 
blessings  in  Christ  Jesus ;  but  they  are  not  ours  to  enjoy 
until  we  have  claimed  and  appropriated  them  by  a  living 
faith.  They  are  only  ours  as  we  avail  ourselves  of  them. 
Hence  the  need  to  "  be  strong  and  very  courageous." 

But  now  a  new  and  unexpected  delay  took  place.  A 
three  days'  pause  was  called  for.  The  officers  informed 
the  people  that  three  days  must  pass  before  they  could  go 
in  to  possess  the  land  which  the  Lord  their  God  was  giving 
them  to  possess. 

I.  What  this  Pause  Meant. — "  Three  days  "  is  a  rec- 
ognized period  in  Scripture  for  death  and  resiurection. 
"As  Jonah  was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  belly  of 
the  sea-monster  (r.v,,  marg.),  so  shall  the  Son  of  Man  be 
three  days  and '  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth." 
"  On  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall  Hve 
before  him."  It  was,  therefore,  appropriate  that  this 
period  should  elapse  ere  the  people  could  pass  through 
symbolic  death  over  to  resurrection  ground. 

But  there  was  another  and  deeper  reason  for  the  delay, 
which  closely  touches  one  of  the  greatest  principles  of  the 
inner  Hfe.  When  Israel  reached  its  banks,  the  Jordan  was 
in  flood,  and  overflowing  the  low-lying  lands  on  either  side 
of  its  bed.  It  was  the  time  of  "  the  swellings  of  Jordan," 
which  in  after-days  was  employed  as  an  expression  for 
overwhelming  trouble.  Before  the  gaze  of  the  assembled 
hosts  the  turbid  floods  rushed  on,  swollen  by  melting 
snows  far  away  on  Hermon,  and  carrying  trunks  of  trees 
and  other  dedns  torn  from  the  banks  in  their  impetuous 
descent.     Its  force  and  velocity,  as  it  poured  down  from 


28  THREE  DAYS'  PAUSE, 

its  upper  basins  to  the  immense  depression  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  had  gained  for  it  the  name  of  "  Descender  "  ;  and  this 
title  was  specially  appropriate  at  such  seasons  as  that  at 
which  Israel  first  beheld  it. 

Across  the  river  stood  Jericho,  embosomed  in  palms  and 
tamarisks,  in  a  very  paradise  of  exquisite  vegetation,  its 
aromatic  shrubs  and  gardens  scenting  the  air.  But  as  the 
people  beheld  it,  all  their  cherished  hopes  of  taking  it  by 
their  own  energy  or  courage  must  have  been  utterly  dissi- 
pated. What  could  they  do  in  face  of  that  broad  expanse 
of  rushing,  foaming,  turbulent  waters?  The  Jordan,  on 
the  page  of  Scripture,  is  constantly  associated  with  death. 
This  indeed  is  its  common  characteristic.  Not  the  death 
of  the  body ;  but  that  baptism  into  death  which  signifies  a 
pause  in  the  energies  of  nature,  and  an  entrance  through 
faith  on  a  higher  and  nobler  level.  So  John  baptized 
there ;  and  there  the  Lord  entered  into  his  first  identifica- 
tion with  sins  not  his  own.  But  never  in  all  its  history 
did  the  Jordan  more  effectually  pronounce  the  sentence  of 
death  than  on  that  day  when  it  taught  the  people  that  by 
no  strength  or  energy  of  their  own  could  they  prevail. 

Multitudes  have  come  to  the  brink  of  that  river,  and 
have  been  left  there^  waiting  on  its  banks,  that  they  might 
consider  the  meaning  of  those  impassable  waters,  and  carry 
away  the  sentence  of  death  in  themselves.  Abraham 
waited  there  for  more  than  twenty  years,  face  to  face  with 
the  apparent  impossibility  of  ever  having  a  son.  David 
waited  there  for  almost  as  long ;  and  it  must  have  seemed 
that  the  kingdom  foretold  to  him  as  a  youth  lay  on  the 
other  side  of  insurmountable  difficulties.  The  sisters  of 
Bethany  waited  there ;  and  the  stone,  rolled  heavily  to  the 
door  of  the  tomb  where  Lazarus  lay,  must  have  been  to 
them  all  that  the  Jordan  was  to  Israel — the  knell  of  hope. 

Many  a  saint  since  then  has  been  brought  down  to  these 


THE  RIVER   OF  JORDAN.  19 

same  banks,  and  has  stood  to  witness  these  flowing  streams. 
What  though  the  promise  of  God  has  offered  all  manner  of 
blessedness  and  dehght!  That  river!  Always  that  river! 
That  flooded,  fordless,  bridgeless,  boatless  river!  Are  you 
there  now,  my  reader?  Do  not  hasten  from  it.  Stand 
still  and  consider,  until  the  energy  and  impetuosity  of  your 
self -life  dies  down.  You  can  never  reach  the  Blessed  Lifei 
by  resolutions,  or  pledges,  or  forms  of  covenant;  your) 
good  self  is  as  powerless  now  as  your  bad  self  was  for- 
merly ;  you  must  learn  that  your  strength  is  to  sit  still,  and 
that  the  rich  blessings  of  God  stored  in  Christ  for  you  are 
an  absolute  gift  to  be  received  by  the  outstretched  hand 
of  faith. 

What  a  marvelous  expression  that  is  concerning  the  faith 
of  Abraham! — "  Without  being  weakened  in  faith,  he  con- 
sidered his  own  body  as  good  as  dead,  and  the  deadness 
of  Sarah's  womb"  (Rom.  iv.  19,  r.v.).  Not  many  could 
have  long  stood  such  considerations  without  losing  all  the 
faith  they  ever  possessed.  There  was  one  secret,  however, 
that  sustained  him.  "  He  looked  unto  the  promise  of 
God."  Turning  from  the  one  to  the  other,  he  wavered 
not.  These  are  the  only  conditions  on  which  the  vision 
of  the  river  will  not  hurt  us ;  if  only  we  turn  from  it  to  the 
Presence  of  the  Captain  of  the  Lord's  Host,  and  to  the 
covenant  which  is  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure.  Then 
we  shall  wax  strong  through  faith,  and  be  fully  assured 
that  what  God  has  promised  he  is  able  also  to  perform. 

II.  How  THIS  Pause  was  spent. — During  this  space 
of  three  days  events  transpired  which  are  both  interesting 
and  typical.  Amongst  other  things  Jericho  was  entered 
by  the  two  spies. 

(i)  Jericho  may  fitly  stand  for  the  world  of  men  over 
which'  judgment  is  impending,  but  which  goes  on  its  way 


so  THREE  DAYS'   PAUSE. 

unheeding.  The  blue  sky  spread  its  canopy  overhead; 
the  sun  rose  and  set ;  the  fields  were  ripened  for  harvest ; 
the  vintage  was  preparing ;  youth  and  beauty  with  hnked 
hands  pursued  a  flower-strewn  path;  but  within  a  fort- 
night a  blow  was  to  fall  from  which  the  city  would  not 
rally  for  centuries. 

The  great  majority  of  the  people  were  either  bent  on 
stubborn  resistance,  or  boasted  themselves  on  their  river 
and  their  walls.  Their  iniquity  was  full.  And  no  procla- 
mation was  made  to  them,  no  terms  proposed,  no  embassy 
sent.  But  there  was  one  soul  in  their  midst  who  was  capa- 
ble of  faith,  and  was  already  exercising  it.  And  he  who 
had  mu-tured  ±Cahab,  anid^d'lier  to  the  point  which  she 
had  reached,  was  bent  on  perfecting  what,  he  had  com- 
menced, and  on  leading  her  into  the  fullest  hght  which  that 
age  possessed.  This  is  ever  God's  way.  If  there  is  but 
"one  righteous  man  in  Sodom,  he  cannot  destroy  the  city 
till  his  angels  have  brought  him  forth.  If  there  is  but  one 
doubter  among  the  apostles,  he  will  not  leave  him  com- 
fortless, but  will  come  to  him  with  unmistakable  tokens. 
Wherever  there  is  a  Rahab,  who,  amid  much  sin  and  igno- 
ranceTisTivmg^  up  to  the  truth  she  has,  and  longs  for  more, 
God  will  takejier  hand  and  lead  her  to  himself.  He  dis- 
cerns a  touch  on  his  robe,  and  stays  his  footsteps  till  he 
has  fully  healed.  A  Nathanael  beneath  the  fig-tree,  a 
eunuch  in  his  chariot,  a  Cornelius  praying  beside  the  sea, 
are  not  overlooked  amid  the  crowds  of  careless  souls  around. 
They  are  as  jewels  on  a  heap  of  cinders,  which  are  eagerly 
espied  and  taken  up,  poHshed,  and  placed  amid  the  divine 
regalia. 

Two  references  are  made  in  the  New  Testament  to 
Rahab's  faith  (Heb.  xi.  3 1  ;  James  ii.  25).  It  was  true  faith, 
though  exercised  only  toward  a  fragment  of  the  ^uth^Jt 
is  not  the  amount  of  truth  that  a  man  holds  which  saves 


THE  SCARLET  THREAD.  31 

him ;  but  the  grasp  with  which  he  holds  it.  /  AU^ jhat 
Rahab  knew  was  that  God  had  delivered  his  people  from 
Pharaoh,  and  had  promised  to  give  them  that  land;  and 
she  believed  it  ^  and  it  was  accounted  to  her  for  righteous- 
ness. And  the  evidences  of  her  faith  were  quick  to  follow. 
She  came  into  antagonism  with  the  world-spirit  as  repre- 
sented in  the  king  of  Jericho ;  she  sent  the  spies  out  by 
ariother^way.  She  Identified  herself  with  Israel  by  the 
scarlet  thread ;  she  gathered  her  kinsfolk  under  her  roof ; 
her  window  looked  toward  Israel,  whilst  her  door  stood 
open  to  shelter  many  a  fugitive ;  and  though  her  faith  was 
not  as  yet  sufficiently  strong  to  deliver  her  entirely  from 
the^  fear  of  man  which  brought  the  snare  of  lying,  yet  she 
was  commended  to  the  care  of  Israel,  and  became  a  link 
in  the  ancestry  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

Rahab,  the  poor  outcast  of  Jericho,  who  had  this  strange 
faith  in  God,  entered  in  with  the  people  to  possess  the  land 
that  flowed  with  milk  and  honey.  She  is  thus  the  type  of 
Gentile  sinners  who  are  permitted  to  share  in  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ ;  to  sit  with  him  in  the  heavenlies ;  to 
form  part  of  that  new  race  which  is  gathering  arouad  the 
true  Joshua,  the  Lord  from  heaven.  We  were  not  a  peo- 
ple ;  but  are  now  the  people  of  God.  We  had  not  ob- 
tained mercy ;  but  have  now  obtained  it.  We  were  far 
off ;  but  are  now  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  So 
then  we  are  no  more  strangers  or  sojourners;  but  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God. 
Only  let  us  avail  ourselves  of  our  heritage! 

(2)  During  this  brief  pause  Joshua  also  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  ascertaining  the  feelings  of  the  two  tribes  and  a 
half.  He  discovered  that  they  were  fully  prepared  to  dis- 
charge the  obhgation  into  which  they  had  entered  with 
Joshua,  and  to  march  with  the  other  tribes  to  the  conquest 
of  Canaan.     But  they  were  equally  set  on  returning  to  the 


32  THREE  DAYS'   PAUSE. 

rich  pasture  lands  of  Gilead,  and  Bashan,  which  Moses 
gave  them  beyond  Jordan,  toward  the  sunrising.  They 
had  "much  cattle"  (Num.  xxxii.  2,  4,  19,  33). 

Are  not  these  the  type  of  Christians  to  whom  the  Land 
of  Promise  is  as  freely  open  as  to  others,  and  who  make 
an  incursion  into  it  with  no  thought  of  remaining?  They 
are  wiUing  to  mete  and  measure  their  strength  with  the 
seven  nations  of  Canaan ;  but  they  are  not  prepared  to 
abandon  the  strong  fascinations  of  the  world,  and  to  settle 
down  to  a  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God.  Are  there  not 
among  us  those  who  have  spent  seven  years  in  the  Land 
of  Promise,  and  have  had  hallowed  experiences  of  blessed- 
ness, rest,  and  power ;  but  have  been  swept  off  their  feet 
and  back  by  the  receding  tide  of  worldliness? 

The  end  of  such  is  but  too  clearly  suggested  by  the  fate 
of  those  Eastern  tribes.  They  had  their  much  grass ;  but 
they  became  gradually  cut  off  from  the  corporate  life  of 
Israel.  They  gave  few  great  names  to  the  roll  of  saints 
and  heroes  emblazoned  on  Israel's  story.  They  fell  first 
beneath  the  invasions  of  Assyria,  and  were  swept  into  cap- 
tivity, from  which  they  never  returned. 

From  such  a  lot  may  we  all  be  saved!  Rather  be  it 
our  happy  portion  to  be  employed  on  the  Lord's  embassies 
in  seeking  souls ;  shown  where  to  find  them ;  taught  how 
to  deal  with  them;  and  enabled  to  lead  them  out  into 
complete  identification  with  the  people  of  God. 

III.  How  THE  Pause  ended. — On  the  third  day  the 
hosts  seem  to  have  come  nearer  the  river's  brink,  and  their 
tents  were  pitched  for  the  night  within  close  proximity  to 
the  hurrying  waters.  It  was  then  that  Joshua  said  unto 
the  people,  "  Sanctify  yourselves ;  for  to-morrow  the  Lord 
will  do  wonders  among  you."  From  which  it  would  seem 
that  the  wonder-working  power  of  God  is  dependent  upon 


"SANCTIFY    YOURSELVES."  33 

the  sanctification  of  his  people.  When  we  ask  the  olden 
question,  "Why  art  thou  as  a  mighty  man  that  cannot 
save?  "  we  get  the  answer,  which  shows  that  we  are  to 
blame  for  the  divine  impotence,  **  He  could  do  no  mighty 
works  there,  because  of  their  unbehef." 

We  all  want  to  see  wonders  wrought  by  God — in  our 
own  characters,  that  the  fir-tree  may  replace  the  thorn,  and 
the  myrtle  the  brier ;  in  oiu"  homes,  that  the  desert  places 
may  blossom  with  roses ;  in  our  churches,  that  they  may 
arise  and  put  on  their  beautiful  garments.  Oh  for  another 
Pentecost!  Oh  for  a  widespread  revival  of  true  godliness! 
Oh  for  the  making  bare  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most 
High !  Oh  to  see  converts  fly  as  doves  to  their  windows ! 
And  why  is  it  that  we  strain  our  eyes  for  them  in  vain? 
Is  it  not  because  we  have  not  sanctified  ourselves?  Sancti- 
fication means  the  cleansing  of  the  soul,  and  the  putting 
on  of  the  white  robes  of  purity  and  humility.  We  are  not 
clean  enough  for  God  to  use  us.  We  are  not  humble 
enough  to  bear  a  great  success.  It  is  perfectly  true  that 
we  can  only  be  wholly  sanctified  by  the  God  of  Peace. 
Holiness  on  its  positive  side  is  his  indwelling  and  filling ; 
but  on  its  negative  side  it  involves  the  putting  away  of 
known  sin,  or  the  being  willing  that  he  should  cleanse  it 
away  from  us  by  blood,  or  water,  or  fire. 

Is  this  our  condition?  Have  we  laid  aside  our  weights 
as  well  as  our  sins?  Are  we  cleansed  from  all  filthiness  of 
the  flesh  and  spirit?  Are  we  able  to  say  with  the  Apostle 
that  we  do  not  condemn  ourselves  in  anything  that  we 
allow?  If  not,  let  us  no  longer  complain  that  the  days  of 
wonders  are  over.  We  are  ourselves  accountable  for  their 
having  vanished,  like  peace  from  the  criminal,  and  purity 
from  the  fallen.  No  wonder  we  are  always  dreading  to- 
morrow. To-morrow  with  God,  and  without  the  wonders 
of  his  mighty  arm,  is  indeed  a  dismal  outlook. 


34  THREE  DAYS*  PAUSE. 

But  if  only  each  one  of  us  were  to  sanctify  himself,  put- 
ting off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds,  and  putting  on  the 
new  man,  renewed  daily  in  the  image  of  Christ ;  forsaking 
every  form  of  evil,  and  hating  even  the  garment  spotted 
by  the  flesh ;  yielding  himself  to  the  two-edged  sword  of 
the  great  High- Priest — we  should  find  that  wonders  would 
begin  and  never  cease ;  that  the  to-morrows  would  only 
unfold  greater  and  better  things  than  ever  before;  that 
Jordans  would  cleave,  and  Jerichos  would  fall.  Then  the 
Land  of  Promise  would  he  open  with  its  immeasurable 
plenty,  its  oil  and  wine,  its  com  and  honey,  its  precious 
priceless  stores. 


IV. 

^Passing  tl)e  Moxhan. 

(Joshua  iii.  lo.) 

**  Omnipotence  is  on  your  side, 

And  Wisdom  watches  o'er  your  heads. 
And  God  himself  will  be  your  Guide, 

So  ye  but  follow  where  he  leads : 
How  many,  guided  by  his  hand. 
Have  reached  ere  now  their  fatherland! 
Press  on!  press  on!" 

Lehr. 

THE  words  "  I  will  drive  out "  are  familiar  ones  in  the 
Mosaic  record  of  the  Exodus.  A  dozen  times  at  least 
God  promised,  through  his  servant,  to  drive  out  the  na- 
tions of  Canaan  before  his  people.  Sometimes  it  was  to  be 
wrought  by  sending  an  angel,  and  sometimes  a  hornet ;  for 
though  God's  righteous  acts  are  fair  and  lovely  to  his  chil- 
dren, they  are  terrible  to  his  adversaries.  All  that  Israel 
had  to  do  was  to  march  straight  before  them  into  the  Land 
of  Promise;  and  they  would  find  that  kings  would  flee 
apace,  and  that  the  mightiest  armies  would  give  back. 

There  were  several  reasons  why  it  was  needful  for  God 
to  drive  out  the  seven  nations  which  dwelt  in  Canaan. 
But  chief  amongst  them  stands  that  suggested  by  the  mem- 
orable interview  held  between  Jehovah  and  Abraham,  the 
ancestor  of  the  chosen  race,  four  centuries  before — the  in- 
iquity of  the  Amorite  was  now  full  (Gen.  xv.  i6). 

35 


36  TASSJNu     'HE  JORDAN. 

In  the  first  place,  the  nations  of  Canaan  had  abandoned 
themselves  to  the  most  abo7ninable  immorality.  After 
enumerating  several  impure  actions,  which  were  not  to  be 
so  much  as  named  amongst  the  chosen  people,  Moses, 
speaking  as  the  mouthpiece  of  Jehovah,  said,  "  Defile  not 
ye  yourselves  in  any  of  these  things ;  for  in  all  these  the 
nations  are  defiled  which  I  cast  out  before  you,  and  the 
land  is  defiled:  therefore  do  I  visit  the  iniquity  thereof 
upon  it,  and  the  land  itself  vomiteth  out  her  inhabitants." 
The  destruction  of  the  people  by  the  sword  of  Israel  was 
only  the  hastening  of  the  natural  results  of  their  shameful 
vice.  The  reasons  which  necessitated  the  Deluge  of  water 
necessitated  this  deluge  of  blood.  Plague-spot  as  it  was, 
Canaan  would  have  infected  the  world  had  it  not  been 
passed  through  the  fire. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Canaanites  were  steeped  in 
spiritualism,  and  held  close  communications  with  the 
demons  of  the  air,  which  have  always  been  forbidden  to 
men.  On  the  eve  of  Israel's  entrance  into  Canaan,  Moses 
said,  "  There  shall  not  be  found  with  thee  one  that  useth 
divination,  one  that  practiceth  augury,  or  an  enchanter,  or 
a  sorcerer,  or  a  charmer,  or  a  consulter  with  a  famihar  spirit, 
or  a  wizard,  or  a  necromancer.  For  whosoever  doeth 
these  things  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord;  and  be- 
cause of  these  abominations  the  Lord  thy  God  doth  drive 
them  out  from  before  thee"  (Deut.  xviii.  10-12).  These 
terms  include  mesmerism;  the  use  of  evil  spirits  to  get 
aid  and  information;  demoniacal  possession  of  bodies  of 
mediums ;  and  the  apparent  summoning  back  of  the  de- 
parted. "  All  these  things  are  a  transgression  of  the  hmits 
of  humanity  as  laid  down  by  the  Creator.  And  the  un- 
lawful confusion  brings  its  own  immediate  punishment,  in 
addition  to  the  fearful  judgment  to  come.  For  our  body 
appears  to  be  intended  to  serve  as  a  fortress ;  and  is  not 


THE   !?ylQUlTY  OF  THE  CANAANITES.  37 

improbably  devised  for  the  very  purpose  of  sheltering  us 
in  some  degree  from  the  corrupting  influence  of  demons  " 
(Fember).  When,  therefore,  man  breaks  through  this  strong 
fence,  and  opens  a  passage  of  communication  with  the 
fallen  spirits  around,  he  exposes  himself  to  God's  direst 
wrath ;  and  for  the  sake  of  the  race  these  black  arts  must 
be  stayed. 

And  this  last  thought  gives  a  new  complexion  to  this 
conflict.  In  driving  out  and  destroying  these  demoralized 
races,  God  was  in  effect  waging  war  with  the  evil  spirits, 
who  from  their  seat  in  the  heavenlies  were  ruling  the  dark- 
ness of  that  land.  This  conflict  was  not  against  flesh  and 
blood ;  "  but  against  the  principalities,  against  the  powers, 
against  the  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness  in  the  heavenly 
places."  The  mighty  armies  marshaled  against  Israel 
were  dissipated  as  chaff  before  the  breeze  of  the  summer 
evening ;  because  the  demons  whom  they  worshiped  were 
being  driven  out  before  the  Lord's  host,  the  Captain  of 
which  appeared  presently  to  Joshua.  At  this  time,  prob- 
ably, to  celestial  watchers,  Satan  appeared  to  fall  as  light- 
ning from  heaven.  And  thus  this  old  record  is  invested 
with  a  new  interest.  It  is  not  simply  the  story  of  the  con- 
quest of  Canaan ;  but  it  is  a  fragment  from  the  chronicles 
of  heaven,  giving  an  episode  in  the  eternal  conflict  between 
light  and  darkness,  between  heaven  and  hell,  between  the 
Son  of  God  and  his  great  antagonist,  the  devil.  What  an 
interesting  additional  analogy  is  presented  by  this  fact,  be- 
tween the  Book  of  Joshua  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians! 

God  graciously  vouchsafed  a  sign  of  the  ultimate  issue  of 
the  war ;  so  that  through  the  seven  years  of  coming  con- 
flict the  people  of  Israel  might  be  at  rest  as  to  the  result. 
"Hereby  ye  shall  know  that  the  Hving  God  is  among 
you,  and  that  he  will  without  fail  drive  out  from  before 
you  the  Canaanites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the  Hivites,  and 


3S  TASSING   THE  JORDAN. 

the  Perizzites,  and  the  Girgashites,  and  the  Amorites,  and 
the  Jebusites.  Behold,  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord 
of  all  the  earth  passeth  over  before  you  into  Jordan."  The 
passage  of  the  turbulent  waters  of  Jordan  was  to  be  the 
Heaven-appointed  sign :  just  as  the  passage  of  our  Lord 
through  death,  his  resurrection,  and  ascension,  are  the 
Heaven-appointed  auguries  and  signs  that  he  shall  at  last 
put  down  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power ;  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil ;  and  give  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even 
the  Father. 

I.  The  Passage  of  the  Jordan. — At  the  close  of  the 
three  days  of  preparation  there  seems  to  have  been  a 
movement  of  the  camp  from  Shittim,  with  its  acacia  groves, 
to  a  spot  within  a  mile  of  the  boisterous  rush  of  the  swollen 
floods.  There  Israel  spent  the  last  memorable  night  of 
pilgrimage  and  wandering.  As  the  dawn  broke,  the  officers 
again  passed  through  the  host,  and  bade  the  people  watch 
and  follow  the  movements  of  the  ark.  A  short  interval 
only  would  elapse  before  the  congregation  had  struck  their 
slight  black  tents,  packed  up  their  household  goods,  ad- 
justed their  burdens,  and  stood  in  one  great  host,  two  and 
a  half  millions  strong,  prepared  to  tread  the  untried  path 
— the  way  that  they  had  not  passed  heretofore — though  it 
led  into  the  valley  of  death.  The  sun  was  rising  behind 
them,  its  beams  flashing  on  the  Jordan,  a  mile  of  water 
broad,  and  setting  in  bold  rehef  the  white  walls  of  the 
houses  of  Jericho ;  whilst  all  the  adjacent  hills  of  Canaan 
stood  around  veiled  in  morning  mist,  or  robed  in  the  ex- 
quisite garments  of  light. 

At  last  a  little  group  emerged  from  those  densely  crowded 
hosts.  It  was  the  chosen  band  of  priests,  white-robed, 
barefooted,  who  slowly  descended  the  terraced  bank  of 
the  river,  bearing  on  their  shoulders  the  sacred  ark,  its 


THE  PRIESTS  BEARING    THE  ARK.  39 

golden  Hd  and  bending  cherubim  hidden  beneath  their 
covering  of  blue.  How  awful  the  silence !  How  fixed  the 
gaze  that  followed  them  every  step  !  How  hushed  the 
voices  of  wiseacres  and  gainsayers  who  had  been  loud 
all  the  previous  days  in  protesting  that  the  passage  was 
impossible ;  and  that  it  would  be  wiser  to  wait  until  the 
mile  of  water  had  dwindled  to  the  normal  width  of  thirty 
yards  when  the  stream  was  four  or  six  feet  deep,  and  easily 
fordable ! 

Nearer  the  little  procession  went ;  but  even  when  it  was 
within  a  yard  of  the  river  brink,  its  approach  effected  noth- 
ing. The  waters  showed  no  disposition  to  flee  or  fail.  But 
when  the  feet  of  the  priests  were  dipped  into  the  tiny 
wavelets,  brown  with  mud,  yeasty  with  the  foam  of  their 
hurried  rush,  a  marvelous  change  took  place.  They  began 
to  divide  and  shrink  away.  And  as  the  priests  piusued 
them,  descending  ever  farther  toward  the  midst  of  Jordan, 
they  fled  before  them  as  if  panic-stricken.  "  What  ailed 
thee,  thou  Jordan,  that  thou  turnedst  back  ?  "  Nothing 
could  account  for  so  great  a  wonder,  save  the  presence  of 
the  God  of  Jacob,  and  that  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of 
the  Lord  of  all  the  earth  was  passing  through  those  depths. 

Far  up  the  river,  at  a  distance  of  some  thirty  miles,  at 
Adam,  the  city  that  is  beside  Zaretan,  the  flow  of  the  river 
had  suddenly  stayed,  and  the  waters,  unable  to  hurry  for- 
ward, gathered  into  a  heap,  and  probably  formed  a  vast 
lake  that  spread  itself  for  miles.  From  that  point  and 
downward,  the  waters,  no  longer  suppHed  from  above, 
began  to  fail ;  they  hurried  toward  the  Sea  of  Death,  and 
were  swallowed  up  in  its  dark,  unwholesome  depths.  "  They 
were  wholly  cut  off."  And  as  there  were  none  to  follow, 
the  river-bed  for  miles  was  dry ;  and  the  people,  hurrying 
down  the  bank,  "  hastened  and  passed  over." 

Mark  the  all-inclusiveness  of  the  miracle.     It  did  not 


40  TASSING   THE  JORDAN. 

concern  the  strong  only,  but  also  the  weak;  not  men 
only,  but  women  and  children ;  not  the  loyal  and  true  only, 
but  the  querulous,  the  murmurers,  the  doubters,  the  fearless 
and  unbelieving.  Achan,  whose  heart  was  preparing  for 
his  deed  of  sin ;  and  Caleb,  the  hale  warrior,  who  wholly 
followed  the  Lord.  Not  one  was  missing.  The  feet  of 
the  priests  stood  firm  till  every  individual  of  the  redeemed 
race  had  crossed  the  river.  It  is  a  blessed  anticipation  of 
the  keeping  back  of  a  more  awful  flood  until  without  one 
exception  the  entire  host  of  the  Church  has  entered  that 
city  whose  walls  are  Salvation,  and  its  gates  Praise. 

And  this  was  the  promised  sign.  For  he  who  could 
drive  out  the  waters  would  drive  out  their  foes.  Having 
done  so  much,  he  would  perfect  that  which  he  had  begun. 
No  child  of  the  kingdom  may  put  his  hand  to  the  plow 
and  then  look  back ;  how  much  less  the  King  himself! 

II.  The  Typical  Significance  of  this  Passage. — 
The  Son  of  God  was  manifested  that  he  might  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil.  The  dispossession  of  the  devil  from 
the  position  which  he  has  usurped  is  as  certain  as  that  of 
the  Canaanites  from  the  Land  of  Promise.  His  doom  is 
sure.  He  must  be  cast  out.  Our  Emmanuel  will  not  fail 
nor  be  discouraged  until  our  great  enemy  and  all  his  armies 
have  been  cast  out  of  the  heavenlies  into  the  earth,  and 
out  of  the  earth  into  the  abyss,  and  thence  into  the  lake  of 
fire.  And  this  is  the  sign  of  it,  that  he  dipped  his  feet  in 
death ;  and,  dying,  aboHshed  death.  It  fled  before  him, 
as  Jordan  before  the  priests;  and  for  those. who  live  and 
believe  in  him,  though  the  semblance  of  dying  remains,  it 
is  as  a  river-bed  from  which  the  water  has  shrunk  away, 
and  the  blood-bought  go  over  dry-shod. 

Christian  people  do  not  seem  to  understand  this  glorious 
fact.  They  think  that  death  to  them  will  be  much  as  it 
has  been  and  is  to  the  myriads  who  die  out  of  Christ.     But 


"CHRIST  THE  FIRST-FRUITS."  41 

surely  this  is  a  profound  mistake.  When  Jesus  died,  he 
entirely  altered  the  article  of  death  for  all  who  beheve. 
**  Through  death  he  brought  to  naught  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil ;  and  delivered  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage." 

In  view  of  these  considerations  what  a  ray  of  light  flashes 
on  several  of  these  sentences  ! 

"There  shall  be  a  space  between  you  and  the  ark''  Yes, 
the  Lord  Jesus  preceded  his  Church.  He  first  passed 
through  the  grave  in  resurrection  power.  "  Every  man  in 
his  own  order :  Christ  the  first-fruits,  afterward  they  that 
are  Christ's."  In  all  things,  and  therefore  in  this  also,  he 
must  have  the  preeminence.  When  he  putteth  forth  his 
own  sheep,  he  goeth  before  them ;  and  his  sheep  follow 
him.  "  The  breaker  is  gone  up  before  them :  they  have 
broken  forth  and  passed  on  to  the  gate,  and  are  gone  out 
thereat,  and  their  king  is  passed  on  before  them,  and  the 
Lord  at  the  head  of  them"  (Micah  li.  13,  r.v.) 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua^  This  day  ivill  I  begin  to 
magnify  thee''  And  surely  the  exaltation  of  Christ  as  the 
God-man  dates  from  the  moment  that  he  stepped  into  the 
hurrying  waters  of  death  and  dried  them  up.  "  The  God 
of  Peace  brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that 
great  Shepherd  of  the  Sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the 
everlasting  covenant." 

"The priests  that  bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord 
stood  firm,  until  all  the  nation  were  passed  clean  over  Jordan  P 
Thus  does  the  merit  of  Jesus  avail 

*'  Till  all  the  ransomed  Church  of  God 
Be  saved  to  sin  no  more." 

The  waters  of  judgment  may  be  accumulating  for  all 
who  cling  to  the  old  Adam-stock ;  but  they  can  never  slip 
from  their  leash  until  every  trembling  laggard  soul  that 


42  TASSING   THE  JORDAN. 

will  has  passed  into  blessed  rest.  You  may  be  young,  or 
crippled,  or  ready  to  halt,  or  much  afraid ;  but  if  you  will 
but  cast  in  your  lot  with  the  host  of  the  ransomed,  the 
Priest  will  lengthen  out  the  dispensation,  and  hold  the 
waters  back  for  you. 

"  The  people  hasted  and  passed  over."  Not  that  they  were 
afraid  of  being  caught  in  the  rush  of  water ;  but  that  they 
might  not  overtire  the  waiting  priests,  patiently  standing, 
the  precious  burden  on  their  shoulders.  Has  not  the 
patience  of  Jesus  been  greatly  exercised  during  these  long 
centuries  ?  He  longs  to  take  his  bride  to  himself,  to  reap 
the  harvest  of  his  tears,  and  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul. 
Let  us  hasten  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God,  by  learning 
all  his  holy  lessons,  doing  his  blessed  will,  and  hastening 
the  Lots  that  linger  at  the  gates  of  Sodom. 

Here,  then,  is  the  blessed  sign  of  the  final  victory  of  the 
Son  of  God;  and  every  Christian  who  passes  into  the 
Land  of  Promise,  Rest,  and  Victory,  who  begins  to  live 
the  resurrection  life,  who  knows  what  it  is  to  stand  in 
conscious  rapture  of  power,  is  another  pledge  that  ere  long 
the  song  shall  be  heard  ringing  through  all  the  spheres : 
"  Hallelujah!  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  God  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign 
forever." 

in.  The  Bearing  of  this  Passage  on  Christian 
Experience. — (i)  We  have  aheady  seen  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  on  death.  It  is 
appointed  unto  man  once  to  die.  And  since  we  have  died 
in  him,  we  shall  find  death  robbed  of  its  terrors.  The 
darkness  of  the  valley  is  only  that  of  a  shadow.  But  this 
is  not  all.  By  virtue  of  our  union  with  him,  we  have 
passed  through  death  on  to  resurrection  ground,  and  have 
become  "  the  children  of  the  resurrection."     It  is  on  this 


CHILDREN   OF   THE  RESURRECTION.  43 

fact  in  our  spiritual  history  that  the  apostles  base  many  of 
their  most  powerful  arguments  and  appeals.  "  We  who 
died  to  sin,  how  shall  we  any  longer  live  therein  ?  "  "  Ye 
were  made  dead  to  the  law,  through  the  body  of  Christ, 
that  ye  should  be  joined  to  another,  even  to  him  who  was 
raised  from  the  dead."  "  Forasmuch  then  as  Christ  suffered 
in  the  flesh,  arm  ye  yourselves  also  with  the  same  mind ;  for 
he  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh  hath  ceased  from  sin, 
that  ye  no  longer  should  Hve  the  rest  of  your  time  to  the 
lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God." 

(2)  With  this  truth  we  can  foil  the  most  bewitching  fas- 
cinations of  the  world.  We  have  passed  out  of  it  with  our 
dear  Lord.  We  have  left  it  behind  us  on  the  other  side 
of  his  grave.  We  cannot  love  it  which  crucified  him,  and 
us  in  him.  We  have  died,  and  our  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God.  We  have  risen,  and  seek  those  things  which  are 
above,  where  Christ  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 
We  have  become  citizens  of  the  new  Jerusalem ;  and  if  we 
still  move  amid  the  world's  engagements,  it  is  in  the  garb 
of  strangers  and  foreigners — men  from  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  who  speak  the  language  and  wear  the  attire  of 
the  heavenly  Canaan — the  language,  love;  the  attire,  the 
white  raiment,  pure  and  clean,  washed  in  the  Blood  of  the 
Lamb. 

It  is  true  that  Jordans  always  roll  between  us  and  our 
Canaans.  We  are  permitted  to  catch  glimpses  of  spiritual 
experience,  which  is  not  only  within  our  reach,  but  evi- 
dently intended  for  us.  A  face  lighted  up  with  an  un- 
earthly glow ;  a  recital  of  experience  ;  a  passage  in  a  book  ; 
a  text;  a  sermon — these  have  revealed  something  as  ra- 
diant to  our  gaze  as  Jericho  must  have  seemed  to  those 
weary  travelers.  But  there  is  a  Jordan  between  us  and  it. 
And  the  turbulent  waters  seem  an  impassable  barrier. 

There  is  no  hope  that  we  shall  be  able  to  cope  with 


44  TASSING   THE  JORDAN. 

these  things  by  any  might  or  wisdom  of  our  own.  As 
well  might  we  seek  to  arrest  a  river  in  its  flood,  or  curb  the 
ocean  in  storm.  The  opposition  of  that  relative;  the 
hatred  of  that  persecutor;  the  strength  of  that  passion; 
the  tyranny  of  that  habit;  the  untowardness  of  our  cir- 
cumstances— these  are  our  Jordan.  How  easy  Hfe  would 
be  if  only  these  were  other  than  they  are!  Give  me 
Canaan  without  its  Jordan  !  But  God  permits  the  Jordans 
that  he  may  educate  our  faith.  Do  not  look  at  the  trou- 
bled waters  rushing  past ;  at  the  Priest,  who  is  also  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant.  He  will  never  send  us  by  a  way  that  he 
is  not  willing  to  tread  before  us.  "  Behold,  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  of  all  the  earth  passeth  over  before 
you  into  Jordan." 

Keep  in  living  fellowship  with  the  Apostle  and  High- 
Priest  of  your  profession.  Consider  him.  Look  away  from 
all  else  to  him.  Follow  him.  It  may  seem  as  if  he  is 
leading  thee  into  certain  destruction ;  but  it  shall  not  be 
so.  When  thou  comest  to  the  dreaded  difficulty,  be  it 
what  it  may,  thou  wilt  find  that  because  his  feet  have  been 
dipped  in  its  brink,  it  has  dwindled  in  its  flow.  Its  roar 
is  hushed;  its  waters  are  shrunken;  its  violence  is  gone. 
The  iron  gate  stands  open.  The  stone  is  rolled  from  the 
sepulcher.  The  river-bed  is  dry.  Jericho  is  within  reach. 
**  They  passed  over  right  against  Jericho." 


ttl|e  0t0nes  of  (l^iigai. 

(Joshua  iv.,  v.) 

**  Less,  less  of  self  each  day, 

And  more,  my  God,  of  thee! 
Oh,  keep  me  in  the  way. 
However  rough  it  be  ! 
Leave  naught  that  is  unmeet ; 

Of  all  that  is  mine  own 
Strip  me ;  and  so  complete 
My  training  for  the  throne." 

H.    BONAR. 

ON  the  western  side  of  Jordan,  to  which  the  host  of 
Israel  had  now  come,  five  miles  from  the  river-brink, 
the  terraced  banks  reached  their  highest  point.  That  was 
Gilgal.  There  the  first  camp  was  pitched,  on  the  edge  of 
a  vast  grove  of  majestic  palms,  nearly  three  miles  broad 
and  eight  miles  long,  that  stretched  away  to  Jericho.  Dean 
Stanley  suggests  that,  as  Joshua  witnessed  it,  it  must  have 
recalled  to  him  the  magnificent  palm-groves  of  Egypt,  such 
as  stretch  at  the  present  day  along  the  shores  of  the  Nile 
at  Memphis.  Amidst  this  forest  could  have  been  seen, 
reaching  through  its  open  spaces,  fields  of  ripe  corn,  "  for 
it  was  the  time  of  the  barley  harvest " ;  and  above  the  top- 
most trees  the  high  walls  and  towers  of  the  city  on  the 
farther  side,  which  from  that  grove  derived  its  proud  name, 
"  Jericho,  the  City  of  Palms." 
Gilgal  was  the  base  of  operations  in  the  war  against  the 
45 


46  GILGAL 

people  of  Canaan.  There  the  camp  remained,  and  the 
women  and  children  (ix.  6  ;  x.  6).  It  ranked  with  Mizpeh 
and  Bethel  amongst  the  holy  places,  where  Samuel  exer- 
cised his  sacred  office  (i  Sam.  vii.  i6).  It  was  the  rallying- 
point  to  which  the  people  gathered  at  solemn  times  of 
national  crisis  (xi.  14).  Saul  had  reason  to  remember  it; 
and  there  Agag  was  hewed  in  pieces  "before  the  Lord." 

Probably  to  the  last  of  the  events,  and  beyond,  the 
twelve  stones  were  visible  which  had  been  pitched  by 
Joshua  as  the  lasting  memorial  of  the  passage  of  the  river. 
Children  were  brought  thither  by  their  parents  to  see  them, 
and  to  hear  the  wondrous  story  of  the  passage,  recited  on 
the  spot  in  words  which  Joshua  had  suggested  long  before. 

At  the  time  when  the  book  was  written,  the  other  heap 
of  stones,  laid  in  the  river-bed,  must  have  been  clearly  dis- 
cernible when  the  stream,  temporarily  swollen  by  the  spring 
floods,  had  retreated  to  its  normal  width  (iv.  9) ;  and  there 
could  have  been  no  difficulty  in  fixing  the  hill  of  circum- 
cision, where,  at  the  command  of  God,  they  had  rolled 
away  the  reproach  of  Egypt,  and  from  which  the  name 
Gilgal,  or  Rolling,  was  derived  (v.  9). 

Gilgal  was  from  the  first  "holy  ground"  (v.  15) ;  and  as 
we  traverse  it  again  in  devout  thought,  it  will  give  us  also 
themes  for  deep  and  holy  meditation. 

I.  The  Stones  on  the  Bank. — At  the  divine  bid- 
ding, twelve  men,  one  out  of  each  tribe,  went  down  into 
the  river's  bed  on  a  special  errand.  From  the  place  where 
the  priests'  feet  stood  firm  in  Jordan  they  took  each  man  a 
stone.  It  may  be  that  the  priests  had  selected  those  stones 
as  providing  a  safe  and  secure  footing ;  or  perhaps  they 
lay  within  some  short  distance  of  the  spot  where  they  had 
stood  upbearing  the  sacred  symbol  of  the  presence  of  God. 
For  centuries  these  stones  had  lain  there  undisturbed ;  but 


I 


"IN  REMEMBRANCE  OF  ME."  47 

now,  piled  together  in  a  heap  before  the  eyes  of  all  men, 
they  were  to  be  a  memorial  of  the  passage  of  Jordan,  as 
the  song  of  Moses  was  of  the  passage  through  the  Red  Sea. 

It  is  well  that  forgetful  hearts  like  ours  should  be  stirred 
p  by  way  of  remembrance.  We  are  so  apt  to  grow  un- 
mindful of  the  Rock  that  begat  us,  and  to  forget  the  God 
that  gave  us  birth.  Even  the  Lord,  whose  love  effected 
a  redemption  which  runs  parallel  with  our  lives,  as  a  river 
beside  a  carriage  road,  needed  to  set  up  a  memorial  of  his 
most  precious  death  on  our  behalf.  There  is,  therefore,  a 
needs-be  for  these  memorial  stones  to  be  erected  beside  our 
Jordans,  with  their  inscription,  "  Wherefore  remember." 

The  special  circumstance  which  these  stones  commemo- 
rated was  that  they  had  come,  a  united  people,  through  the 
Jordan ;  and  that  as  a  nation  they  had  been  brought  into 
the  land  promised  to  their  fathers.  What  though  two 
tribes  and  a  half  had  elected  to  stay  with  their  cattle  in 
the  rich  pastures  of  Gilead  and  Bashan,  yet  they  were  still 
an  integral  part  of  the  people.  There  were  twelve  stones. 
And  in  after-centuries,  if  the  heap  remained  intact,  even 
after  the  northern  tribes  had  been  carried  into  captivity, 
any  who  came  thither  would  be  compelled  to  admit  that 
there  had  been  a  time  when  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  had 
stood  together,  on  that  spot,  a  united  and  mighty  nation. 

And  what  is  the  typical  and  spiritual  significance  of  this? 
Why  this  reverent  care  to  pitch  these  bowlder  stones,  and 
to  record  with  such  minute  detail  the  fact  ?  What  mean 
these  stones?  Those  who  have  followed  carefully  the 
teaching  of  the  preceding  chapters  cannot  hesitate  as  to 
the  reply.  As  in  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  all  Israel  came 
up  on  to  the  river's  bank,  so  in  the  resurrection  and  ascen- 
sion of  the  Lord  Jesus  the  whole  Church  of  his  redeemed 
passed  over  to  resurrection  ground,  and  are,  in  the  purpose 
and  thought  of  God,  aheady  seated  in  the  heavenlies. 


48  GILGAL 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  through  the  apostles.  It  comes  out  unmis- 
takably in  the  writings  of  Peter  as  well  as  of  Paul.  No 
fact  is  better  attested  or  more  eagerly  emphasized.  To 
ignore  it  is  to  miss  the  foundation  on  which  the  structure 
of  a  full  and  present  salvation  is  based.  We  must  go  back 
to  the  cross  for  the  Atonement ;  but  we  must  also  go  back 
to  it  for  our  passage  in  him  to  the  resurrection  side  of 
death : 

"  In  him  we  died,  in  him  we  rose, 
In  him  we  triumphed  o'er  our  foes ; 
In  him  in  heaven  we  took  our  seat, 
And  heaven  rejoiced  o'er  earth's  defeat." 

It  is  in  the  Revised  Version,  with  its  more  accurate  ren- 
dering of  the  tenses  of  the  original  Greek,  that  this  mighty 
fact  stands  out  with  most  distinctness.  Addressing  those 
who  at  the  time  when  the  Lord  Jesus  was  dying  on  the 
cross  were  probably  living  in  the  lusts  of  their  flesh,  do- 
ing the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  the  Apostle 
says :  "  Even  when  we  were  dead  through  our  trespasses, 
God  quickened  us  together  with  Christ,  and  raised  us  up 
with  him,  and  made  us  to  sit  with  him  in  the  heavenlies  " 
(Eph.  ii.  5,  6).  And  in  each  case  the  use  of  the  aorist 
tense  points  to  a  definite  past  act  by  which  their  position, 
and  that  of  the  whole  Church,  was  settled,  once  and  for 
all,  so  far,  at  least,  as  the  purpose  and  thought  of  God 
are  concerned. 

It  cannot  be  too  often  or  too  clearly  emphasized  that 
the  basic  thought  in  the  New  Testament  philosophy  of  de- 
liverance from  the  power  of  sin  consists  in  the  intelligent 
apprehension  of  this  divine  fact — that  the  whole  Church 
was  identified  with  Jesus  in  his  death,  and  resurrection,  and 
ascension ;  that  all  died  with  him ;  all  lay  in  his  grave ; 
all  rose  with  him  on  the  Easter  morning ;  all  passed  with 
him,  in  the  divine  intention,  to  the  throne.      It  was  no 


THE  MEMORIAL  IN  JORDAN.  49 

lonely  figure  that,  as  the  light  of  morning  broke  on  the 
temple  dome,  climbed  the  steeps  of  the  sky,  drawn  by  an 
invisible  attraction ;  he  was  accompanied  by  a  multitude 
which  no  man  could  have  numbered ;  in  him  you  and  I 
and  all  believers  trod  down  the  principalities  and  powers 
of  darkness,  and  took  our  place  above  them  all.  What 
though  as  yet  for  many  of  us  this  seems  a  dream  ?  Yet 
let  us  never  rest  till  the  Spirit  of  God  has  made  it  a  hving 
fact.  And  let  it  be  the  one  aim  of  our  life  by  faith  to 
make  that  true  in  daily  life  and  experience  which  is  true 
in  the  thought  and  purpose  of  our  God. 

Consider  those  twelve  stones  on  the  farther  side  of 
Jordan ;  and  be  sure  that  as  they  represented  the  entire 
people,  and  commemorated  their  marvelous  transportation 
from  the  one  side  of  Jordan  to  the  other,  so,  in  the  New 
Jerusalem,  the  twelve  foundation-stones  bearing  the  names 
of  the  apostles,  and  the  twelve  gates  inscribed  with  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  are  a  standing  memo- 
rial that  the  Church  as  a  whole  is  on  resurrection  ground ; 
but  her  shame  and  sorrow  are  that  she  has  not  availed 
herself  of  her  lofty  privileges,  or  descended  to  earth  as 
girded  with  the  power  of  the  risen,  living  Jesus. 

We  have  crossed  the  River.  Our  eternity  is  begun. 
Part  possession  of  our  heritage  has  already  been  bestowed. 
In  Jesus  we  are  loved  and  accepted ;  we  are  more  than 
conquerors ;  we  occupy  a  position  which,  if  only  we  keep 
it,  is  unassailable  by  oiu*  foes ;  they  can  only  prevail  against 
us  when  they  succeed  in  tempting  us  to  abandon  it.  All 
things  are  ours  in  union  with  our  raised  and  reigning 
Lord ;  whether  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  pres- 
ent or  things  to  come — all  are  ours,  and  we  are  Christ's, 
and  Christ  is  God's. 

II.  The  Stones  in  the  Bed  of  the  Stream. — Not 
content  with  pitching  a  cairn  of  stones  on  the  river's  bank, 


50  GILGAL 

Joshua,  at  God's  command,  set  up  twelve  stones  in  the 
midst  of  Jordan,  in  the  place  where  the  feet  of  the  priests 
that  bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  stood.  And  often,  as 
he  came  back  and  back  to  Gilgal,  he  must  have  gone  out 
by  himself  to  walk  and  muse  beside  the  river,  turning  the 
outward  and  the  inner  gaze  to  the  spot  where  beneath  the 
flow  of  the  current  those  stones  lay  hidden.  They  were 
the  lasting  memorial  of  the  miracle  which  otherwise  might 
have  faded  from  memory,  or  seemed  incredible.  They 
were  aids  to  faith.  Where  they  lay  the  people  had  been, 
and  the  feet  of  the  priests  had  been  planted  dry.  And 
surely  the  power  that  had  arrested  the  Jordan,  and  brought 
the  people  up  from  its  bed,  would  not  fail  until  it  had 
wrought  out  the  whole  purpose  of  God. 

We  too  may  often  walk  along  that  river,  and  gaze  into 
those  depths.  There  Jesus  lay  in  death  for  us,  and  there 
we  lay  in  him;  and  not  we  only,  but  all  his  Church. 
"  For  if  one  died  for  all,  then  all  died."  Each  time  we 
partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  behold  the  rite  of  baptism 
administered  in  the  form  of  immersion,  or  fall  into  the 
ground  to  die  in  acts  of  self-sacrifice  and  self -dying,  we 
stand  with  Joshua  beside  the  Jordan,  covering  the  twelve 
memorial  stones ;  and  there  float  through  our  thought,  like 
a  strain  of  thrilling  music,  the  words,  "  Now  that  he  as- 
cended, what  is  it  but  that  he  also  descended  first  into  the 
lower  parts  of  the  earth,  .  .  .  that  he  might  fill  all  things." 

Nothing  breaks  the  power  of  sin  like  this.  When  we 
apprehend  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the  meaning  of  his  death, 
we  are  constrained  to  live,  no  longer  to  ourselves,  but  to 
him.  By  his  cross  we  too  have  been  crucified  to  the 
world,  and  the  world  to  us.  Other  men  may  be  fascinated 
by  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride 
of  life ;  but  these  things  have  lost  their  charm  for  us.  How 
can  we  love  them  when  we  remember  what  they  did  unto 


THE  SEAL   OF  THE  COVENANT.  51 

our  Lord — our  life,  our  love,  the  bridegroom  and  husband 
of  our  souls  ?  What  true  woman  can  dally  with  the  mur- 
derer of  her  spouse  ? 

Go,  O  Christian  soul,  and  meditate  long  and  prayerfully 
on  this  great  spiritual  fact.  Realize  that  thou  hast  passed 
into  another  sphere.  Thou  art  quit  of  thy  first  husband, 
the  Law ;  and  thou  art  married  to  another,  even  to  him 
who  was  raised  from  the  dead.  Thou  sharest  his  life,  his 
home,  his  protection.  That  principle  of  sin  that  held  thee 
fast  in  the  lower  sphere  may  not  follow  thee  hither.  Death 
bars  its  way.  Reckon,  then,  thyself  to  be  dead  indeed 
unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and  answer 
every  solicitation  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  the  devil,  by 
affirming  that  thou  art  none  of  theirs. 

Let  us  also  remember  that  the  very  same  power,  "  the 
working  of  the  strength  of  his  might,"  which  availed  to 
raise  Christ,  our  representative  and  head,  from  the  grave, 
and  to  set  him  far  above  all  orders  of  spiritual  being  at  his 
own  right  hand,  is  available  for  each  of  us  who  beHeve. 
Electricity  lay  hidden  around  men  in  these  long  ages  in 
which  they  were  oblivious  to  its  presence  and  unable  to 
apply  it  to  their  needs;  and  God's  mighty  resurrection 
energy  Hes  all  around  us,  waiting  for  us  to  avail  ourselves 
of  it.  Let  us  claim  and  appropriate  and  use  it,  yielding 
ourselves  to  its  impulses,  and  learning  that  there  is  noth- 
ing in  the  purpose  of  God  which  he  is  not  prepared  to 
reahze  in  the  happy  experience  of  those  who  believe. 

III.  The  Rite  of  Circumcision. — Israel  looked  for 
nothing  less  than  to  be  led  from  the  river-brink  to  the 
conquest  and  partition  of  the  land.  They  suddenly  dis- 
covered, however,  that  this  was  not  quite  the  divine  pro- 
gramme for  them.  But  they  were  required  to  submit  to  a 
painful  rite,  the  seal  of  the  covenant  which  was  made  orig- 


52  GILGAL 

inally  to  Abraham,  and  by  virtue  of  which  the  land  had 
been  given  to  him  and  to  his  seed  (Gen.  xvii.  8-10). 

During  the  wanderings  of  the  desert — which  were  due 
to  their  unbehef,  and  practically  disinherited  them — the 
observance  of  this  rite  had  been  in  abeyance ;  because  the 
operation  of  the  covenant  was  for  the  time  in  suspense. 
But  now  that  the  new  young  nation  was  learning  to  exer- 
cise its  faith,  the  covenant  and  its  seal  came  again  into 
operation.  "  Their  children,  whom  he  raised  up  in  their 
stead,  them  did  Joshua  circumcise." 

Even  those  comparatively  unenlightened  people  must 
have  reaHzed  that  there  was  deep  spiritual  significance  in 
the  administration  of  that  rite  at  that  juncture.  On  more 
than  one  occasion  they  had  heard  Moses  speak  of  circum- 
cising the  heart ;  and  they  must  have  felt  that  God  meant 
to  teach  them  the  vanity  of  trusting  to  their  numbers,  or 
prowess,  or  martial  array.  Their  strength  was  nothing  to 
him.  The  land  was  not  to  be  won  by  their  might,  but  to 
be  taken  from  his  hand  as  a  gift.  Self  and  the  energy  of 
the  flesh  must  be  set  aside,  that  the  glory  of  coming  vic- 
tory might  be  of  God,  and  not  of  man. 

We,  too,  must  have  ova  Gilgal.  It  is  not  enough  to  ac- 
knowledge as  a  general  principle  that  we  are  dead  and  risen 
with  Christ ;  we  must  apply  it  to  our  inner  and  outer  life. 
If  we  died  with  Christ,  we  must  mortify  our  members, 
which  are  upon  the  earth.  If  we  put  away  the  old  man 
with  his  doings,  in  our  profession,  we  must  also  put  away 
anger,  wrath,  malice,  railing,  and  shameful  speaking.  If 
we  were  raised  together  with  Christ,  we  must  seek  those 
things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  is  seated  on  the  right 
hand  of  God.  The  first  effect  of  our  appreciation  of  the 
meaning  of  Christ's  death  will  be  our  appHcation  of  that 
death  to  our  members  which  are  upon  the  earth.  We  have 
no  warrant  to  say  that  sin  is  dead,  or  that  the  principle  of 


THE  ENERGY  OF  THE  DIVINE  LIFE.  53 

sin  is  eradicated ;  but  that  we  are  dead  to  it  in  our  stand- 
ing, and  are  dead  to  it  also  in  the  reckoning  of  faith. 

But  for  this  we  need  the  gift  of  the  Blessed  Spirit,  in  his 
Pentecostal  fullness.  It  was  by  the  Eternal  Spirit  that  our 
Lord  offered  himself  in  death  upon  the  cross ;  and  it  is  by 
him  alone  that  we  can  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body. 
For,  first,  the  spirit  of  self  is  so  subtle.  It  is  like  a  taint 
in  the  blood,  which,  stayed  in  one  place,  breaks  out  in  an- 
other. Protean  in  its  shapes  and  ubiquitous  in  its  hiding- 
places,  it  requires  omniscience  to  discover  and  omnipresence 
to  expel.  And,  secondly,  only  the  Spirit  of  God  has  cords 
strong  enough  to  bind  us  to  the  altar  of  death ;  to  remind 
us  in  the  hour  of  temptation ;  to  enable  us  to  look  to 
Jesus  for  his  grace ;  to  inspire  us  with  the  passion  of  self, 
immolation ;  to  keep  us  true  and  steady  to  the  resolves 
of  our  holiest  moments ;  to  apply  the  withering  fire  of  the 
cross  of  Jesus  to  the  growth  of  our  self-conceit  and  self- 
energy — for  all  these  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  is  indispen- 
sable. He  is  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  therefore  he 
must  be  the  Spirit  of  death  to  all  that  pertains  to  the  old 
Adam. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  all  believers  have  been  cir- 
cumcised in  Christ ;  but  there  is  another  sense  in  which  it 
is  needful  for  them  to  pass  one  after  another  through  the 
circumcision  of  Christ  which  is  not  made  with  hands,  and 
which  consists  in  the  putting  off  of  the  body  of  the  flesh. 
To  that  all  who  would  lead  a  life  of  victory  and  inherit  the 
Land  of  Promise  must  submit.  The  process  may  be  sharp, 
for  the  knife  does  not  spare  pain.  But  it  is  in  the  hands 
of  Jesus,  the  Lover  of  souls.  Oh,  shrink  not  from  it  ! 
Let  him  do  all  that  he  deems  needful,  though  it  takes  many 
days  ere  the  wound  is  healed. 

At  first  it  might  appear  strange  that  the  past  experience 
of  resurrection  life  should  lead  to  death.     But  on  further 


54  GILGAL 

reflection  it  is  not  hard  to  see  that  all  which  is  of  the  flesh 
must  be  condemned  and  executed  even  as  he  was,  who 
came  in  the  hkeness  of  sinful  flesh,  that  the  ordinance  of 
the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us  who  walked  not  after  the 
flesh  but  after  the  Spirit.  And  though  it  might  appear 
that  the  circumcised  life  will  ever  be  a  maimed  life,  it  is 
not  really  so ;  the  contrary  is  the  universal  testimony  of 
this  book.  When  the  hand  is  cut  off,  we  go  maimed  info 
life.  When  we  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  we  begin  to 
live.  When  the  Lord  our  God  has  circumcised  our  hearts, 
then  we  love  him  with  all  our  heart  and  with  all  our  soul 
— and  we  live. 

You  can  never  take  Jericho,  Christian  worker,  till  you 
have  been  circumcised,  till  God  has  taken  away  your  self- 
reliance,  and  has  brought  you  down  into  the  dust  of  death ; 
then,  when  the  sentence  of  death  is  in  yourself,  you  will 
begin  to  experience  the  energy  of  the  divine  life,  the  glory 
of  the  divine  victory. 


VI. 

(Joshua  v.  10-12.) 

**  To  feed  on  Christ  is  to  get  his  strength  into  us  to  be  our  strength. 
You  feed  on  the  cornfield,  and  the  strength  of  the  cornfield  comes 
into  you,  and  is  your  strength.  You  feed  on  Christ,  and  then  go 
and  live  your  life ;  and  it  is  Christ  in  you  that  lives  your  life,  that 
helps  the  poor,  that  tells  the  truth,  that  fights  the  battle,  and  that 
wins  the  crown."  Phillips  Brooks. 

IN  one  of  his  sonnets,  Matthew  Arnold  tells  of  an  inter- 
view he  had  on  a  day  of  fierce  August  sunshine,  in 
Bethnal  Green,  with  a  preacher  whom  he  knew,  and  who 
looked  ill  and  overworked.  In  answer  to  the  inquiry  as 
to  how  he  fared : 

"  Bravely  ! "  said  he ;  *'  for  I  of  late  have  been  much 
cheered  with  thoughts  of  Christ,  the  Living  Bread."  He 
is  not  the  only  human  soul  who,  above  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  London  storm  and  tumult,  has  set  up  a  mark  of  ever- 
lasting light  to  cheer,  and  to  right  its  course  through  the 
night.  For  holy  souls  have  ever  loved  to  meditate  upon 
that  wonderful  power  which  they  possess,  of  absorbing  into 
themselves  the  very  nature  of  him  who,  though  he  was  the 
Everlasting  Son  of  the  Father,  became  man,  that  the  forces 
of  deity  might  through  him  pass  out  to  those  who  love 
him. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  strength  which 
may  be  supplied  from  without  and  that  which  is  assimilated 

55     -   - 


$6  THREE  SUCCESS! l^E  DAYS. 

within.  To  illustrate  the  first:  we  tread  the  cathedral 
close  and  examine  the  mighty  buttresses  that  steady  the 
ancient  walls.  What  though  the  high  embowed  roof  presses 
on  them  with  all  its  weight  to  make  them  bulge,  they  may 
not  stir  an  inch  from  the  perpendicular  so  long  as  those 
masses  of  stone,  built  up  without,  forbid.  To  illustrate 
the  second:  we  must  visit  the  forest  glade,  where  giant 
oaks  withstand  the  blasts  of  centuries,  because  they  have 
incorporated  into  their  hearts  the  properties  of  earth  and 
air,  becoming  robust  and  sturdy  and  storm-defying. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  the  holy  soul  derives 
strength  from  without.  It  is  buttressed  by  remonstrances 
and  appeals ;  by  providences  and  promises ;  by  the  fear 
of  causing  grief ;  and  by  the  incitement  of  passionate  de- 
votion. But  if  these  were  all,  they  would  be  insufficient. 
We  need  to  have  within  ourselves  the  strong  Son  of  God ; 
to  know  that  the  Mightiest  is  within  us,  working  through 
us,  so  that  we,  even  as  he,  can  do  all  things. 

In  this  old  record  we  may  discover  without  effort  the 
Living  Bread  under  three  aspects — the  Passover ;  the  com 
of  the  land ;  the  manna.  Each  of  these  was  associated 
with  one  of  three  successive  days. 

The  Passover. — The  Passover  itself  could  never  be 
repeated ;  once  for  all  it  lay  back  in  the  history  of  Israel, 
as  a  fundamental  fact.  Only  once  that  Angel,  bent  on 
slaying  the  firstborn ;  only  once  the  slain  lamb  and  sprin- 
kled blood ;  only  once  the  Exodus  in  the  gray  dawn  of  his- 
tory. But  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  held  in  commemora- 
tion of  that  event,  was  destined  to  perpetual  repetition 
until  it  gave  place  to  a  yet  more  significant  symbol ;  which, 
in  turn,  is  to  fade  into  the  marriage  supper,  as  the  love  of 
betrothal  fades  into  that  of  marriage,  and  moonhght  into 
dawn. 


THE  PASSOyER,  57 

The  feast  of  Passover  was  held  at  Sinai ;  but  not  after- 
ward till  the  forty  years  had  elapsed.  In  fact,  it  could 
not  be  held  whilst  the  nation,  through  unbelief  and  dis- 
obedience, was  untrue  to  the  covenant.  Had  it  not  been 
distinctly  affirmed,  amid  other  provisions,  that  no  uncircum- 
cised  person  should  eat  thereof  ?  How,  then,  was  it  pos- 
sible that  it  should  be  maintained,  when,  as  we  have  lately 
learned,  "  all  the  people  that  were  bom  in  the  wilderness, 
by  the  way  as  they  came  forth  out  of  Egypt,  they  had  not 
circumcised  "  ?  But  directly  the  circumcising  of  the  peo- 
ple was  completed,  there  was  no  longer  a  barrier;  and 
they  kept  the  Passover  between  *'  the  two  evenings,"  as  the 
sun  of  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month  was  flinging  toward 
them  long  shadows  from  the  palm-trees  and  walls  of 
Jericho. 

There  were  two  significant  parts  of  the  Passover  as  it 
was  first  instituted:  the  sprinkling  of  blood  oi?  the  doors 
without ;  and  within,  the  family  gathered  around  the  roasted 
lamb,  and  eating  it  in  haste.  As,  however,  years  went  on 
and  conditions  altered,  blood  was  no  longer  sprinkled  on 
the  hntel  and  door-posts ;  but  the  drinking  of  wine  was 
substituted  for  that  ancient  and  significant  act.  And  the 
family  gathered  round  the  table  to  the  sacred  feast,  not 
merely  with  the  girded  loin  and  staff  in  hand  as  befitted 
pilgrims,  but  with  the  leisured  restfulness  of  home.  In 
point  of  fact,  it  was  a  family  meal  at  which  the  people  re- 
viewed the  past  with  thankfulness,  and  talked  together  of 
that  mercy  which  had  been  so  remarkably  displayed  in 
their  national  history.  On  reaching  the  Land  of  Promise, 
the  thoughts  of  the  people  were  guided  back  to  the  great 
fact  of  redemption  by  blood  that  lay  at  the  basis  of  their 
existence.  And  there  can  never  be  a  moment  in  the  ex- 
perience of  the  believer  when  he  can  be  forgetful  of  the 
broken  body  and  the  shed  blood  of  his  Lord,  broken  and 


58  THREE  SUCCESSIVE  DAYS. 

shed  for  the  remission  of  sin.  However  much  the  cross 
may  speak  of  santification,  its  primary  message  must  ever 
be  of  justification.  It  is  true  that  we  died  with  him ;  but 
it  is  also  true  that  he  died  for  us — that  he  was  made  a 
curse  to  bring  us  blessings.  In  heaven  itself  the  redeemed 
ones  sing  of  the  Lamb  who  was  slain,  and  amid  the  rapt- 
ures of  the  Golden  City  adore  him  who  wrought  redemption 
by  his  blood. 

The  other  side  of  the  Passover  has  also  a  counterpart  in 
oiu-  experience.  The  Israelites  feasted,  they  drank  the  light 
Eastern  wine ;  and  in  after-days  chanted  the  Hallel,  and 
ate  of  the  flesh  of  the  lamb.  The  bread  was  unleavened, 
and  the  herbs  bitter ;  but  joy  preponderated  over  sorrow. 
And  this  is  the  type  of  Christian  hfe.  "  Christ  our  Pass- 
over hath  been  sacrificed  for  us,"  said  the  Apostle,  "  where- 
fore let  us  keep  festival  "  (r.v.).  He  did  not  refer  to  any 
hour  or  day  in  the  year  when  those  to  whom  he  wrote 
should  give  themselves  up  to  joy ;  but  meant  us  to  consider 
our  hves  as  though  the  joy  of  the  ancient  Jewish  feast 
were  lengthened  through  all  our  days ;  so  that  we  are  al- 
ways standing  with  girded  loins,  always  in  the  pilgrim  atti- 
tude, and  always  feeding  on  the  Lamb  of  God. 

The  Lord's  Supper  is  not  simply  a  memorial  of  what  he 
did  on  Calvary,  or  is  doing  on  the  throne ;  it  is  a  perpetual 
reminder  to  the  beheving  heart  of  its  privilege  and  duty  to 
eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man  after 
a  spiritual  sort.  We  must  eat  his  flesh,  or  we  shall  have 
no  life  in  us.  We  must  drink  his  blood,  or  we  shall  not 
dwell  in  him,  or  he  in  us. 

How  little  we  understand  the  way  by  which  each  part 
of  our  body  takes  the  particular  nourishment  it  requires 
from  the  food  we  eat !  But  we  know  that  such  is  the  case  ; 
and  that  bones,  muscles,  and  tissues  appropriate  their 
sustenance  from  the  common  store.     So,  though  we  may 


"THE  CORN  OF  THE  LAND."  59 

not  be  able  to  explain  the  philosophy  of  the  process,  we  be- 
lieve and  are  sure,  that  as  we  hold  fellowship  with  Jesus  in 
quiet,  hallowed  moments,  our  weakness  absorbs  his  strength, 
our  impatience  his  long-suffering,  our  restlessness  his  calm, 
our  ignorance  his  wisdom.  But  let  it  ever  be  borne  in 
mind  that  as  no  uncircumcised  person  was  permitted  to 
partake  of  the  Passover,  so  none  who  are  living  in  willful 
sin  can  feed  on  the  flesh  and  blood  which  were  given  f«r 
the  life  of  the  world.  There  must  be  a  Gilgal  before  there 
can  be  a  Passover  in  the  deepest  and  fullest  sense. 

II.  The  Corn  of  the  Land. — "  And  they  did  eat  of 
the  com  of  the  land  on  the  morrow  after  the  Passover." 
There  is  no  need  for  the  adjective  old.  It  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  they  ate  of  the  com  of  the  land ;  though 
it  is  quite  likely  that  it  was  the  com  of  the  previous  har- 
vest, and  not  that  which  was  then  goldening  throughout 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  ready  for  the  sickle.  The  main 
point  is,  that,  with  great  thankfulness,  the  Israelites,  the 
majority  of  whom  had  never  tasted  anything  but  manna, 
ate  of  the  produce  of  the  Land  of  Promise. 

According  to  the  Jewish  code,  on  that  day  the  high- 
priest  should  have  waved  the  first  sheaf  of  the  new  harvest 
before  God,  so  presenting  the  whole.  The  rite  may  have 
been  omitted  on  that  occasion,  though  rehgiously  observed 
in  after-years.  Is  it  not  significant  that  on  this  very  day 
the  Lord  Jesus  arose  from  the  dead,  "  the  first-fruits  of  them 
that  slept "  ?  Surely,  then,  it  is  no  straining  of  the  parallel 
to  say  that  the  com  of  the  Land  of  Promise  represents  him 
in  risen  glory.  He  fell  as  a  seed  of  corn  into  the  ground 
to  die ;  but  through  death  he  has  acquired  the  power  of 
imparting  himself  to  all  who  believe.  He  was  bruised,  as 
all  bread  com  must  be ;  the  wheel  of  the  cart  of  divine 
justice  ground  him  beneath  its  weight ;  but  he  has  become 


6o  THREE  SUCCESSIVE  DAYS. 

thereby  as  the  finest  of  the  wheat  to  feed  the  needs  of  the 
world.  We  must  feed  on  the  Paschal  Lamb,  and  learn 
the  full  meaning  of  his  cross  and  passion,  his  precious 
death  and  burial ;  but  we  must  also  feed  on  the  corn  of 
the  heavenly  land,  and  derive  life  and  blessing  from  his 
glorious  resurrection  and  ascension. 

The  Church  has  in  some  measure  learned  to  appreciate 
the  importance  of  the  incarnation  and  crucifixion.  The 
picture-galleries  of  the  world  teem  with  masterpieces  rep- 
resenting the  holy  nativity  and  the  wondrous  cross.  But 
it  is  comparatively  seldom  that  we  hear  in  treatise  or  ser- 
mon any  adequate  treatment  of  the  ascension  from  the 
lowest  parts  of  the  earth  to  that  zenith  point  of  glory  from 
which  he  fills  all  things.  The  resurrection  is  emphasized 
as  the  sign  of  his  Sonship,  and  the  evidence  of  his  accepted 
work ;  but  its  full  significance  as  the  first  step  in  the  upward 
passage  of  the  Son  of  God,  bearing  us  with  himself  from 
glory  to  glory  until  we  sat  down  with  him  in  the  heavenlies, 
is  too  little  appreciated.  Oh  to  know  what  Paul  meant  by 
his  emphasis  when  he  said,  "  Yea  rather  that  is  risen  again  ;" 
and  to  fathom  his  thought  when  he  said,  that  though  he 
had  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,  he  wished  to  know  him 
so  no  more,  because  he  longed  to  understand  the  power 
of  his  resurrection.  The  Paschal  Lamb  is  good ;  but  the 
corn  of  the  land  includes  the  fruits  and  honey  and  bread- 
stuff that  grow  on  the  soil  of  the  resurrection  Hfe. 

The  ascension  of  Christ  may  be  considered  in  many 
aspects ;  but  in  each  we  seem  to  stand  beneath  his  out- 
stretched hands  of  benediction,  as  they  did  who  saw  him 
parted  from  them,  and  taken  up  before  their  adoring  gaze. 
The  majesty  and  triumph  of  the  God-man,  as  he  is  raised 
far  above  all  principality  and  power,  whether  of  angels  or 
of  demons,  and  above  every  name  that  is  named,  whether 
in  this  world  or  that  which  is  to  come ;  the  certainty  that 


THE  MANNA.  6i 

the  same  power  which  raised  him  from  the  grave  to  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father  waits  to  do  as  much  for  each  of 
as ;  the  behef  that  in  his  ascension  he  has  received  gifts 
for  each  of  us,  and  the  best  of  all  gifts,  the  fullness  of  the 
Spirit,  waiting  for  us  to  claim  and  receive ;  the  conception 
that,  however  our  emotions  may  change,  we  are  one  with 
him,  accepted  and  beloved — these  are  themes  that  stir 
our  sluggish  hearts  and  make  them  leap  with  gladness, 
which  no  increase  of  com  or  wine  can  yield  to  the  men  of 
this  world.  Happy  indeed  are  they  who  also  in  heart  and 
mind  thither  ascend,  and  with  him  continually  dwell.  To 
do  this  is  to  eat  of  the  com  and  fruit  of  the  land. 

III.  The  Manna. — "And  the  manna  ceased  on  the 
morrow,  after  they  had  eaten  of  the  old  corn  of  the  land." 
There  was  no  break  between  the  two.  The  corn  began 
before  the  manna  ceased.  The  one  overlapped  the  other 
as  the  thatch  of  a  hay-rick  or  the  feathers  of  a  bird. 

God  does  not  wish  that  there  should  be  those  intervals 
of  apparent  desertion  and  the  failure  of  supphes  of  which 
so  many  complain.  It  is  quite  Hkely  that  he  may  have  to 
withdraw  the  extraordinary  and  exceptional,  as  represented 
by  the  manna ;  but  he  will  wait  until  we  have  become  ac- 
customed to  the  ordinary  and  regular  supplies  of  his  grace, 
as  represented  by  the  com.  In  the  blessings  of  our  out- 
ward life  he  does  sometimes  humble  us,  and  suffer  us  to 
hunger.  The  brook  Cherith  dries  before  he  sends  us  to 
Zarephath.  But  as  to  the  inward  hfe,  he  gives  without 
stint.  The  table  is  always  prepared  before  us  in  the  pres- 
ence of  our  enemies — one  form  of  soul-sustenance  is  within 
reach  before  another  form  fails. 

We  are  constantly  being  forced  from  the  familiar  manna 
which  came  without  anxiety  or  seeking  on  our  part,  to 
the  com  which  requires  foresight  and  careful  preparation. 


62  THREE  SUCCESSIVE  DAYS. 

This  is  needful;  because  in  these  we  learn  invaluable 
lessons  of  patience,  and  self-denial,  and  cooperation  with 
God.  But  ah,  how  at  first  we  shrink  from  the  change  ! 
Who  is  there  that  does  not  cry,  "  The  old  is  better  "  ?  The 
old  furniture  for  the  room ;  the  old  house  where  we  spent 
so  many  happy  days ;  the  old  familiar  routine  of  life ;  the 
old  ways  of  doing  things.  It  is  hard  to  part  with  them. 
But  they  have  ceased  to  furnish  the  discipline  we  need ; 
and  we  must  leave  them  for  the  untried  and  unknown, 
where  we  obtain  a  new  insight  into  the  ways  of  God,  and 
become  workers  together  with  him. 

How  gracious,  then,  is  the  gentle,  thoughtful  kindness  of 
God,  who  lets  us  see  the  new  before  he  quite  takes  away  the 
old ;  accustoming  us  to  walk  before  he  removes  the  chair  on 
which  we  had  leaned  so  long.  Do  not  fret  if  the  rhapsodies 
and  outbursts  and  exuberant  manifestations  of  earlier  days 
have  ceased  ;  it  is  better  to  live  by  the  ordinary  laws  of  hu- 
man life  than  by  the  abnormal  and  miraculous.  And  after 
all,  there  is  as  much  divine  power  in  the  production  of  a 
fig  and  pomegranate,  of  ohve-oil  and  honey,  of  barley  and 
wheat,  as  in  the  descending  manna ;  as  much  in  the  transfor- 
mation of  the  moisture  of  the  earth  and  air  into  the  ruddy 
grape  as  in  the  miracle  of  Cana;  as  much  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  soul  in  holiness  and  righteousness  all  its  days 
as  in  the  communication  of  unspeakable  visions  and  words 
that  may  not  be  uttered. 

But  in  addition  to  all  these  lessons,  we  may  learn  from 
the  cessation  of  the  manna  that,  as  we  advance  in  Christian 
experience,  we  think  less  of  the  coming  down  from  heaven 
in  the  incarnation,  and  more  of  the  going  back  in  the  as- 
cension. The  babe  Jesus  is  less  to  us  than  the  ascended 
Christ.  We  look  not  so  much  toward  the  cradle  of  the 
manger-bed  as  upward  to  the  throne  and  forward  to  the 
second  advent.     It  makes  a  great  difference  to  us  whether 


THE  MANNA.  63 

we  occupy  the  standpoint  of  the  birth  or  of  the  ascension ; 
and  many  a  system  of  theology,  when  weighed  in  the  bal- 
ance, is  found  wanting  because  it  fails  to  understand  that 
the  manna  ceases  when  the  Jordan  is  crossed  and  Canaan 
entered. 

This,  then,  is  our  main  lesson.  We  must  learn  to  live  in 
such  wise  as  to  be  nourished  with  the  life  of  the  Son  of 
God.  When  we  eat  of  Christ,  we  live  by  him,  as  he  lived 
by  the  Father ;  and  as  the  Father,  dwelling  in  him,  wrought 
through  his  life,  and  did  his  wondrous  works,  so  he,  enter- 
ing into  us — the  Word  by  his  words — will  do  through  us 
what  had  otherwise  been  perfectly  impossible. 

Do  you  long  for  more  strength  to  do  or  suffer,  to  wit- 
ness or  turn  the  foe  from  the  gate?  Then  feed  on  Christ, 
meditating  on  his  Word,  communing  with  himself,  filled  by 
his  Spirit,  who  takes  of  the  things  that  are  his  and  reveals 
them  to  us.  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst ;  they 
shall  be  filled."  *'  He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with  good 
things."     "  Bread  that  strengtheneth  man's  heart." 


VII. 
^\}t  tXJatrior  Ci)rist. 

(Joshua  v.  13-15-) 

"  So  let  it  be.     In  God's  own  might 
We  gird  us  for  the  coming  fight, 
And,  strong  in  him  whose  cause  is  ours 
In  conflict  with  unholy  powers, 
We  grasp  the  weapons  he  has  given — 
The  Light  and  Truth,  and  Love  of  Heaven." 

Whittier. 

"  TT  came  to  pass."  The  time  and  exact  locality  are  not 
X  defined ;  but  they  are  not  of  much  account  in  the 
presence  of  that  marvelous  episode  which  stands  before  the 
conquest  of  Canaan,  as  an  illuminated  capital  before  the 
black  letterpress  of  some  old  missal.  As  to  the  time,  it 
was  probably  the  day  in  which  the  manna  had  ceased,  and 
the  Leader  had  realized  that  the  land  must  now  furnish  the 
commissariat.  As  to  the  place,  it  is  enough  to  know  that 
it  was  ^y  Jericho. 

Behind  lay  the  Jordan,  the  seam  made  by  the  passage 
of  the  host  no  longer  discernible ;  though  the  fresh  heap 
of  memorial  stones  proclaimed  the  miracle  of  the  dried 
river-bed.  Beneath,  under  the  shadow  of  the  hill,  lay  the 
camp,  where  the  people  were  resting  from  their  long  fa- 
tigues, in  the  first  glad  realization  that  their  long  joumey- 
ings  were  ended.     Whilst  five  miles  distant,  on  the  path  to 

64 


"WHAT  SAITH  MY  LORD?"  65 

Canaan,  towering  above  the  palm-groves,  arose  the  strongly 
fortified  walls  of  Jericho. 

It  must  have  been  for  Joshua,  at  least,  a  time  of  anxious 
suspense.  He  could  not  forget  how  forty  years  before  the 
former  generation  had  cried  out  for  bondage  in  Egypt,  or 
graves  in  the  desert,  rather  than  face  the  terrors  of  forti- 
fied cities  and  giant  champions.  And  what  might  not 
their  children  do!  It  had  been  comparatively  easy  to 
cope  with  Amalek,  and  Og,  and  Sihon,  because  they  had 
met  Israel  in  open  war  upon  the  field  of  battle ;  but  that 
was  a  very  different  matter  to  attacking  a  city  which  was 
able  to  hold  its  own  in  a  long  siege.  It  was  impossible  to 
leave  it  in  the  rear,  unsubdued ;  but  it  was  also  suicidal  to 
sit  down  before  it  to  starve  it  to  surrender.  As  the  weary 
months  dragged  on,  the  energy  of  the  people  would  evapo- 
rate, and  the  armies  of  their  foes  would  gather.  Eagerly 
must  the  lonely  chieftain  have  longed  for  one  moment 
with  Moses,  or,  better  still,  with  that  Angel  of  the  Presence 
of  God,  who  had  been  promised  when  the  camp  was  still 
pitched  beneath  the  chffs  of  Sinai. 

Thinking  much  and  deeply,  Joshua  wandered  forth  alone ; 
and  suddenly,  *'  as  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  looked,  behold, 
there  stood  a  man  over  against  him,  with  his  sword  drawn 
in  his  hand."  We  need  those  uphfted  eyes.  Too  often 
we  keep  o\n  gaze  fixed  on  the  ground,  and  miss  the  celes- 
tial visions  that  await  us  all  round. 

But  who  was  this  man?  Was  he  phantom  cr  reality, 
Hebrew  or  Canaanite,  friend  or  Toe?  Joshua  knew  not; 
but  his  heart  was  pure  and  clear,  and  therefore  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  go  up  to  him  and  challenge  him  with  the  inquiry, 
"Art  thou  for  us,  or  for  our  adversaries?  "  Then  came  the 
majestic  reply,  "  Nay ;  but  as  Captain  of  the  host  of  the 
Lord  am  I  now  come."  And  Joshua  fell  on  his  face  to 
the  earth,  and  did  worship,  and  took  the  place  of  lowly 


66  THE  IVARRIOR   CHRIST. 

obedience,  saying,  "What  saith  my  Lord  unto  his  ser- 
vant?" 

We  cannot  doubt,  then,  who  he  was.  Though  bearing 
the  semblance  of  a  man,  he  was  certainly  neither  man  nor 
angel.  Had  he  been  either,  he  would  have  instantly  re- 
pelled the  homage  which  Joshua  gave.  When  the  men  of 
Lystra  were  about  to  sacrifice  to  Paul  and  Barnabas,  they 
cried  out  in  horror,  "  Sirs,  why  do  ye  these  things?  we  are 
men  of  like  passions  with  you ;"  and  when  John,  amid  the 
blaze  of  glory,  fell  down  before  the  feet  of  the  angel  who 
hfted  the  concealing  veil,  he  said,  "  See  thou  do  it  not ; 
for  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the  proph- 
ets." But  when  Joshua  prostrated  himself  before  this  mys- 
terious apparition,  there  was  no  prohibition  to  his  lowly 
homage.  It  was  accepted  as  Peter's  in  the  fishing-boat ; 
and  as  the  leper's  when  he  knelt  at  the  blessed  feet  of 
Christ  for  healing.  Joshua  was  even  urged  to  more  care- 
ful and  reverent  homage,  in  words  which  were  addressed 
to  Moses  from  the  burning  bush,  where  the  I  AM  spake 
with  him ;  and  we  have  to  believe  that  he  who  spake  to 
Joshua  on  the  threshold  of  Canaan  was  none  other  than 
Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  whose  dehghts,  long  before 
the  incarnation,  were  with  the  sons  of  men,  and  who  an- 
ticipated it  by  paying  preliminary  visits  to  our  earth  in  cor- 
poreal form. 

The  tide  here  adopted  by  our  Lord  cHngs  to  him 
throughout  the  Bible.  Isaiah  says  that  he  is  given  to  be 
the  Leader  and  Commander  of  his  people.  Peter  describes 
him  as  the  Prince  or  Captain  of  Life.  The  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  refers  to  him  as  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation, 
who  was  made  perfect  through  suffering.  And  at  the  close 
of  the  Book  we  see  a  majestic  procession  come  forth  from 
the  opened  heaven,  led  by  a  Captain,  who  is  clothed  in 
vesture  dipped  in  blood,  and  whose  name  is  the  Word  of 
God. 


"THE  LORD'S  HOST."  67 

I.  The  Special  Significance  of  this  Vision  to 
Joshua. — It  has  been  generally  supposed  that  this  divine 
Captain  came  to  take  Joshua's  place  in  command,  and 
assume  the  supreme  direction  of  the  hosts  of  Israel ;  much 
as  when  the  German  Emperor  takes  the  field,  his  greatest 
officers  subordinate  themselves  to  him,  surrendering  to  his 
hands  the  control  of  the  campaign,  and  are  content  to  ex- 
ecute his  plans.  But  that  is  not  the  deepest  meaning  here. 
''The  Lord's  host"  does  not  primarily  allude  to  those 
Israelite  armies  encamped  beside  the  overflowing  waters 
of  the  Jordan  ;  but  to  other  and  invisible  hosts,  encamped 
all  around  on  those  heights,  though  no  ear  ever  heard  the 
call  of  the  sentries  at  their  posts  of  duty,  or  saw  the  sheen 
of  their  swords  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  or  beheld  their 
marshaled  ranks.  Those  troops  of  harnessed  angels  were 
the  hosts  of  which  this  wondrous  warrior  was  Captain. 

There  are  several  references  in  Scripture  to  the  presence, 
near  at  hand,  of  angel-hosts.  When  Jacob,  after  his  angry 
altercation  with  Laban,  was  on  his  way  back  to  Canaan,  fear- 
ful perhaps  of  pursuit,  we  are  told  that  the  angels  of  God 
met  him — as  though  a  squadron  of  heavenly  armies  sud- 
denly came  in  sight — assuring  him  of  defense  against  attack. 
When  the  servant  of  the  prophet  was  dismayed  to  find  him- 
self encircled  by  the  hosts  of  Syria,  he  was  permitted,  in 
answer  to  EHsha's  prayer,  to  see  that  the  mountain  was  full 
of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire.  The  Psalmist  tells  of  the 
angel  that  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and 
of  the  hosts  that  do  his  bidding.  So  in  Gethsemane,  the 
Lord  referred  to  the  twelve  legions  of  angels  who  were 
waiting,  under  arms,  for  the  least  indication  of  the  Father's 
will  to  come  only  too  gladly  to  his  relief.  It  is  therefore 
in  harmony  with  the  tenor  of  Scripture  to  see  those  lines 
of  warriors  waiting  within  the  curtains  of  the  unseen  to 
be  led  against  the  foes  of  God  and  Israel.  And  we  read 
a  new  meaning  into  the  ancient  phrase  by  which  Jehovah 


68  THE  WARRIOR  CHRIST. 

became  known.  "  Who  is  the  King  of  glory  ?  **  "  The 
Lord  of  hosts,  he  is  the  King  of  glory." 

But  if  it  be  true  that  there  are  hosts  of  light,  it  is  certainly 
true  also  that  there  are  hosts  of  darkness.  Such  is  the  per- 
petual affirmation  of  Scripture.  Behind  the  gods  of  the 
heathen  inspiration  detects  demons,  who  rule  men  through 
the  hideous  idols  of  their  hands.  Behind  the  might  of 
vast  but  ungodly  empires  inspired  men  descry  the  presence 
and  activity  of  great  potentates  from  Satan's  fallen  realm. 
Behind  the  darkness  of  this  world  the  Bible  teaches  us  to 
look  for  wicked  spirits,  who  rule  it  from  "  the  heavenlies." 
These  they  occupy  for  the  present,  and  until  the  second 
advent  hurls  them  down,  first  to  the  earth,  and  afterward 
to  the  abyss  (i  Cor.  x.  20;  Dan.  x.  13;  Eph.  vi.  12; 
Rev.  XX.  2,  3). 

Is  it,  therefore,  any  cause  for  wonder  that  the  walls  of 
Jericho  fell  down,  or  that  vast  armies  were  scattered  with- 
out a  blow  being  struck,  or  that  the  land  was  subdued  in 
a  seven  years'  campaign  ?  These  achievements  were  the 
earthly  and  visible  results  of  victories  won  in  the  heavenly 
and  spiritual  sphere  by  armies  which  follow  the  Word  of 
God  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and 
pure.  Those  walls  fell  down  because  smitten  by  the  im- 
pact of  celestial  hosts.  Those  armies  fled  because  the 
dark  powers  with  which  they  were  in  league  had  been  put 
to  the  rout  before  the  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth.  That  land 
was  subdued  because  of  some  great  dislodgment  which 
had  taken  place  in  regions  beyond  human  ken.  There 
was  therefore  deep  significance  in  the  words  with  which 
Caleb  had  sought  to  encourage  his  people  forty  years  before : 
"  Their  defense  is  removed  from  over  them,  and  the  Lord 
is  with  us :  fear  them  not."  And  we  can  better  understand 
what  the  Lord  meant  when  he  said,  "As  Captain  of  the 
Lord's  host  am  I  now  come." 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  ASCENSION.  69 

II.  The  Significance  of  this  Vision  to  the  Church. 

— If  we  read  the  thoughts  thus  suggested  into  the  story 
of  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  we  shall  find  it  invested  with 
fresh  interest.  It  is,  as  we  have  said,  not  only  an  ancient 
historic  record,  but  a  page  torn  out  of  the  chronicles  of 
heaven,  telling  of  that  mighty  conflict  which  has  been  in 
process  since  the  introduction  of  moral  evil,  and  shall  last 
till  the  Son  of  God  has  destroyed  the  works  of  the  devil. 

Throughout  the  world  of  nature  there  are  signs  of  con- 
flict and  collision.  Everywhere  armies  meet  in  battle- 
shock,  and  part  to  repair  their  losses  or  count  their  gains. 
According  to  the  last  findings  of  science,  the  invisible  mole- 
cules of  the  calmest  air  are  in  rapid  motion  all  around  us, 
jostHng  with  each  other,  and  fighting  hard  to  keep  their 
course,  but  hindered  by  a  thousand  kindred  molecules  that 
are  fighting  too,  so  that  we  move  and  work  in  a  very 
cyclone  of  whirHng  atoms.  There  is  no  pool,  however 
tranquil ;  no  forest-glade,  however  peaceful ;  no  isle  bathed 
by  southern  seas,  and  set  gem-Hke  on  the  breast  of  ocean, 
however  enchanting ;  no  scene,  however  fascinating — which 
is  not  swept  by  opposing  squadrons  contending  for  victory. 
The  swift  pursue  their  prey ;  the  strong  devour  the  weak ; 
the  fittest  alone  survive  in  the  terrific  strife. 

For  the  student  of  God's  ways  all  this  leads  up  to  a 
more  tremendous  struggle,  between  darkness  and  Hght,  evil 
and  good,  Satan  and  our  King.  And  here  is  the  real  im- 
portance of  the  ascension,  which  was  the  worthy  climax 
of  the  wonders  of  the  first  advent,  as  it  will  introduce  the 
glories  of  the  second. 

All  through  his  earthly  ministry  our  Lord  encountered 
the  dark  powers.  They  assailed  him  in  the  wilderness  of 
temptation ;  opposed  him  through  the  wretched  victims 
they  possessed ;  gathered  in  their  might  in  the  glades  of 
Gethsemane ;  hissed  their  horrid  suggestions  into  his  heart 


70  THE  IVARRIOR   CHRIST. 

on  the  cross ;  and  resisted  his  every  step  as  he  arose. 
Up  to  that  moment  none  of  woman  born  had  proved  him- 
self able  to  overcome  their  attacks.  But  the  life  and  death 
of  the  man  Christ  Jesus  turned  the  tide.  And  when  he 
arose  and  ascended  far  above  all  rule  and  authority  and 
power  and  dominion  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not 
only  in  this  world  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come,  it  be- 
came established  beyond  a  doubt  that  though  man  in  him- 
self was  no  match  for  hell,  yet  man  in  Christ,  in  union  with 
the  Son  of  God,  was  more  than  a  conqueror ;  able  to  do 
all  things  through  him  that  strengthened  him,  and  destined 
to  overcome. 

The  victory  of  the  ascension  was  not  for  Jesus  only,  but 
for  his  people  ;  that  he  might  lead  his  heavenly  squadrons 
forth  to  assured  victory,  whilst  the  Church  mihtant  marched 
on  the  plains  of  earth  below.  When  the  Church  won  her 
mightiest  victories  over  the  idols  of  Greece  and  Rome,  the 
systems  of  Pagan  philosophy,  the  temples  of  Venus  and 
Diana  and  Jove,  she  recognized  this;  and  her  successes 
were  due,  not  to  the  valor  or  prowess  of  her  battahons,  but 
to  the  spiritual  forces  with  which  she  was  allied.  To  this 
same  cause,  whether  recognized  or  not,  we  must  attribute 
the  missionary^  triumphs  of  recent  years — the  open  doors ; 
the  tottering  of  heathen  systems ;  the  unopposed  progress 
of  the  Gospel  in  many  lands.  These  results  have  been 
doubtless  simultaneous  with  changes  in  the  sphere  of  the 
Unseen  and  Eternal,  of  which  we  can  form  no  true  concep- 
tion ;  and  the  future  conquests  of  the  Church  must  depend, 
not  on  her  wealth  or  numbers  or  prestige,  but  on  her  loving 
and  hallowed  alHance  with  those  celestial  hosts  to  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  referred  on  the  plains  of  Jericho  when  he 
said,  "As  Captain  of  the  Lord's  host  am  I  now  come." 

Alas,  that  this  truth  has  been  so  little  appreciated  !  The 
Church  of  Christ  has  too  often  either  considered  that  she 


''MORE  THAN  CONQUERORS."  71 

contained  within  herself  all  the  resources  necessary  for  vic- 
tory over  the  evil  of  the  world,  or  she  has  stood  paralyzed 
or  aghast  before  the  Jerichos  of  sin  which  have  risen  up 
to  obstruct  her  path.  The  fenced  cities  of  drink  and  lust, 
of  self-indulgence  or  apathy,  have  refused  to  open  their 
gates  to  her  challenge,  and  have  laughed  defiance  to  her 
hosts.  Then  she  has  appealed  to  Caesar — to  human  meth- 
ods and  alliances  and  expedients.  But  in  vain ;  for  not- 
withstanding all,  the  walls  have  not  fallen  down,  nor  her 
foes  given  back. 

The  saints  of  God  have  need  to  repent  of  their  sins  and 
failures  in  this  direction.  Let  them  realize  that  already 
the  Captain  of  the  celestial  hosts  has  led  his  squadrons 
against  their  foes  and  his.  Let  them  put  away  all  that 
would  imperil  or  impair  the  alliance.  Let  them  raise  a 
modification  of  the  old  battle-cry,  which  was  originally 
based  on  an  acknowledgment  of  this  great  spiritual  fact, 
and  charge  with  the  shout,  "  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and 
of  his  people." 

III.  The  Significance  of  this  Vision  to  Our- 
selves.— We  sometimes  feel  lonely  and  discouraged.  The 
hosts  with  which  we  are  accustomed  to  cooperate  are  rest- 
ing quietly  in  their  tents.  No  one  seems  able  to  enter  into 
our  anxieties  and  plans.  Our  Jerichos  are  so  formidable 
— the  neglected  parish ;  the  empty  church ;  the  hardened 
congregation ;  the  godless  household.  How  can  we  ever 
capture  these,  and  hand  them  over  to  the  Lord,  like  dis- 
mantled castles,  for  him  to  occupy? 

That  problem  at  first  baffles  us,  and  appears  insoluble. 
Then  we  vow  it  shall  be  untied,  and  summon  all  our  wit 
and  energy  to  solve  it.  We  study  the  methods  of  others, 
and  copy  them ;  deliver  our  best  addresses  and  sermons ; 
put  forth  herculean  exertions;  we  adopt  exciting  adver- 


72  THE  IVARRIOR  CHRIST. 

tisements  and  questionable  methods,  borrowed  from  the 
world.  Suppose  Israel  had  taken  lessons  in  scaling  walls 
and  taking  fenced  cities  from  the  Canaanites !  Or  that  the 
people  had  made  an  attack  on  Jericho  with  might  and 
main,  determined  to  find  or  make  a  breach!  Such  sup- 
positions are  not  altogether  absurd.  At  least  they  have 
their  counterpart  in  the  practice  of  too  many  of  God's 
children,  who  forget  that  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor 
the  battle  to  the  strong,  and  that  by  strength  shall  no  man 
prevail. 

But  in  our  hours  of  disappointment,  when  we  have  tried 
our  best  in  vain,  and  have  fallen — as  the  sea-birds  which 
dash  themselves  against  the  Hghthouse  tower  fall  to  the 
foot  with  broken  wing — it  is  well  to  go  forth  alone,  confess- 
ing our  helplessness,  and  tarrying  for  the  vision ;  for  then 
we  shall  be  likeHest  to  see  the  Captain  of  the  Lord's  host. 
He  will  undertake  our  cause ;  he  will  marshal  his  troops 
and  win  the  day ;  he  will  fling  the  walls  of  Jericho  to  the 
ground.  Those  walls  can  only  fall  down  by  faith;  for 
faith  allies  itself  with  omnipotence,  and  becomes  the 
channel  along  which  the  might  of  God  can  pass,  as  the 
electric  current  along  the  wire.  Our  cooperation  may  be 
employed,  but  only  to  walk  around  the  walls,  in  the  garb 
of  priestly  purity,  and  blowing  the  rams*  horns. 

But  we  must  be  holy.  "  Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy 
feet,"  said  the  divine  Warrior  to  Moses ;  "  for  the  place 
whereon  thou  standest  is  holy."  Wherever  God  is,  there 
is  holiness.  Even  Canaan  is  holy  when  God  stands  upon 
its  soil.  And  we  must  be  holy  if  we  would  cooperate 
with  him.  We  must  put  off  the  old  man,  with  his  affections 
and  lusts ;  we  must  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of 
the  flesh  and  spirit ;  we  must  cast  off  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  array  ourselves  in  the  panoply  of  light. 

We  know  enough  to  be  sure  that  he  will  not  ally  himself 


PURE  yESSELS.  73 

with  the  unfaithful  or  unclean,  or  have  any  association 
with  us  so  long  as  we  harbor  an  Achan  with  wedge  of  gold 
and  Babylonish  garment.  And  if  he  is  to  go  forth  with 
our  armies,  to  deliver  us  and  to  give  up  our  enemies  be- 
fore us,  we  must  be  careful  that  the  camp  be  holy,  and  that 
he  see  no  unclean  thing  in  us  and  turn  away  (Deut.  xxiii.  14). 
The  battle  is  not  to  the  strong,  nor  the  race  to  the  swift ; 
but  each  to  those  who  are  living  lives  separate  from  the 
world,  and  dedicated  to  God.  The  vessels  which  are  meet 
for  the  Master's  use  are  pure  ones.  Cleanness,  rather  than 
cleverness,  is  the  prime  condition  of  successful  service. 
And  then  it  is  only  out  of  such  a  heart  that  the  faith  can 
spring  which  is  able  to  wield  the  forces  of  the  unseen  and 
spiritual  and  divine.  May  there  be  no  film  between 
God's  holiness  and  ours  !  Nothing  to  insulate  us  or  shut 
off  the  current!  No  shoe-leather  to  intercept  the  commu- 
nication of  its  fullness  to  our  need. 


VIII. 
Q:i)e  CDallfi  of  Semico. 

(Joshua  vi.) 

,  "  More  than  conquerors  even  now, 
With  the  war-sweat  on  our  brow, 
Onward  o'er  the  well-marked  road, 
March  we  as  the  host  of  God." 

BONAR. 

JERICHO,  palm-girt,  standing  out  clear-cut  in  the  pure 
air  and  under  the  deep  blue  of  the  sky,  in  front  of  the 
vast  precipice  of  rock  down  which  the  road  descended 
from  Jerusalem,  was  filled  with  many  thoughts,  chief  among 
which  was  faint-heartedness.  There  was  no  mustering  of 
forces;  no  issuing  forth  of  the  men  of  war;  no  sudden 
night  attack  upon  that  host  which  lay  along  the  Jordan 
bank,  the  brown  tents  pitched  around  the  central  pavihon 
or  tabernacle  of  God.  It  was  as  though  some  mysterious 
spell  had  fallen  upon  king  and  people,  unnerving  them, 
impelling  them  to  stand  upon  the  defensive  and  await  the 
unfolding  of  events.  "Their  heart  melted,  neither  was 
there  spirit  in  them  any  more,  because  of  the  children  of 
Israel." 

Israel,  on  the  other  hand,  was  probably  impatient,  eager 
to  be  led  to  the  conflict.  The  men  of  war,  confident  in 
their  might,  were  eager  to  match  themselves  against  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  and  to  wipe  out  in  blood  the 
memory  of  their  fathers'  defeat  at  Hormah.     Conscious 

74 


*'YE  SHALL   COMPASS   THE  CITY.'*  75 

that  the  passage  of  the  Jordan  had  been  due  to  the  pres- 
ence of  the  priests,  it  may  have  been  that  there  was  a  secret 
desire  in  their  hearts  to  show  that  the  time  had  come  for 
the  priests  to  stand  aside,  whilst  they  approved  their  powers 
and  won  the  land  by  might. 

But  they  had  to  learn  that  the  land  was  a  gift,  to  be  re- 
ceived by  faith,  not  won  by  effort.  God  required  of  them 
only  to  obey  and  wait  and  trust,  whilst  the  divine  Cap- 
tain led  his  celestial  hosts  to  the  assault,  and  achieved  the 
victory.  "And  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua,  See,  I  have 
given  into  thine  hand  Jericho,  and  the  king  thereof,  and 
the  mighty  men  of  valor.  And  ye  shall  compass  the  city, 
all  the  men  of  war  going  about  the  city  once." 

It  certainly  was  the  strangest  spectacle  ever  witnessed  by 
a  beleaguered  garrison.  The  besiegers  did  not  make  an 
assault,  or  rear  mounds,  or  place  scaling-ladders  against 
the  walls.  They  did  not,  indeed,  afford  an  opportunity 
for  parley  or  discussion  of  terms  of  capitulation.  On  each 
side  it  seems  to  have  been  understood  that  the  war  would 
be  to  the  knife — no  quarter  asked,  no  mercy  shown. 
Without  delay  the  host  of  Israel  began  encompassing  the 
city.  "  Ye  shall  compass  the  city."  May  it  not  be  rather 
said  that  the  ark  encompassed  the  city,  and  that  the  men 
of  war  accompanied  it?  For  in  each  case,  whether- the 
directions  were  given  to  Joshua  by  the  Captain,  or  by 
Joshua  to  the  host,  the  particular  position  of  the  ark  was 
minutely  specified.  Indeed,  as  Joshua  came  from  the 
divine  interview  he  appears  to  have  first  summoned  the 
priests  into  his  presence,  and  given  them  his  instructions. 
After  this,  he  turned  to  the  people  generally.  There  is  a 
remarkable  emphasis  in  the  words,  "  He  caused  the  ark  of 
the  Lord  to  compass  the  city." 

It  was  but  a  little  after  dawn.  The  sun  had  mounted 
not  far  above  the  eastern  horizon.     Blue  blended,  with 


76  THE  iVALLS   OF  JERICHO. 

amber  in  the  morning  sky.  Toward  the  south  the  mount- 
ains of  Moab  stood  like  a  mighty  rampart,  veiled  in  violet, 
while  the  sullen  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea  gleamed  Hke  silver 
at  their  foot.  The  belt  of  desert  sand  added  its  dark  red 
to  the  variegated  colors  of  the  picture,  contrasting  notably 
with  the  emerald  green  of  the  oasis  in  which  Jericho  stood, 
watered  by  perennial  streams.  Then  from  out  the  camp  of 
Israel  a  long  procession  began  to  unwind  itself :  first  the 
men  of  war,  marching  beneath  their  tribal  banners ;  then 
seven  priests,  white-robed,  blowing  with  seven  trumpets  of 
rams'  horns ;  next  the  ark  of  God,  hidden  by  its  coverings 
from  gaze  of  Israelite  and  Canaanite  alike ;  and  lastly  the 
tribe  of  Dan,  closing  up  the  rear. 

Toward  the  city  this  strange  procession  made  its  way, 
preserving  an  absolute  silence,  save  that  the  priests  went  on 
continually  and  blew  with  the  trumpets.  With  that  ex- 
ception no  other  sound  was  heard.  No  challenge!  No 
taunt!  No  cry  as  of  them  that  shout  for  mastery!  The 
whole  host  wound  silently  around  the  city,  as  a  serpent 
with  sinuous  folds ;  and  when  the  circuit  was  completed, 
to  the  surprise  of  the  XairaHTrite§7  wno  probably'  expected 
an4fflInediaIFa5sauI|3r-^ turned  quietly  to  the.  camp  from 
which  It  had  emerged  some  hour  or  two  before.  And  the 
rest  oTthe  day  pasTed^tTTout  Further  incident.  "  So  they 
did  six  days." 

On  the  seventh  day  the  circuit  of  the  walls  was  repeated 
seven  times.  And  at  the  close  of  the  seventh,  Joshua's 
voice  rang  out  on  the  still  evening  air  the  command, 
"  Shout  !  for  the  Lord  hath  given  you  the  city."  Then 
the  priests  blew  a  blast  upon  the  trumpets;  the  people 
shouted  with  a  great  shout,  that  reverberated  through  the 
hills  around,  and  was  perhaps  answered  by  the  feebler 
voices  of  the  women  and  children  from  the  camp ;  and  the 
wall  of  Jericho  fell  down  flat,  so  that  the  people  could  go 


"THEY  TOOK  THE  CITY.*'  77 

up  into  the  city,  every  man  straight  before  him,  "  and  they 
took  the  city."  As,  in  years  long  after,  an  inspired  writer 
reviewed  the  incident,  he  quoted  it  as  a  remarkable  instance 
of  that  faith  which,  in  various  dispensations,  unites  the 
hearts  of  all  the  saints  in  one,  as  a  thread  a  number  of 
diverse  beads.  "By  faith  the  walls  of  Jericho  Jell  down, 
after  they  were  compassed  about  seven  days."  In  various 
directions ' we- may  find  a  counlerpart  of  this  remarkable 
incident. 

I.  In  Christian  Experience. — If  Egypt  represents 
our  conflicts  with  the  world,  and  Amalek  our  conflict  with 
the  flesh,  the  seven  nations  of  Canaan  represent  our  con- 
flict with  the  principalities  and  powers  of  wicked  spirits, 
who  resist  our  entrance  into  the  heavenlies,  and  dull  our 
practical  realization  of  what  Christ  has  wrought  for  us. 
Intrenched  behind  the  ramparts  of  some  stronghold  of 
difficulty  or  habit,  they  defy  us  and  threaten  to  arrest  our 
progress  in  the  divine  hfe.  Who  is  there  amongst  us,  or 
who  reads  these  lines,  that  does  not  know,  or  has  not 
known,  of  something — a  cherished  indulgence,  a  friendship, 
a  pernicious  entanglement — reared  as  an  impassable  barrier 
to  the  enjoyment  of  those  blessed  possibilities  of  Christian 
experience  which  are  ours  in  Christ,  but  which  for  that 
reason  seem  beyond  our  reach?     That  thing  is  a  Jericho. 

Now  it  cannot  be  the  purpose  of  God  that  anything, 
however  deeply  rooted,  should  shut  his  redeemed  ones  out 
of  the  heavenly  places,  which  are  theirs  in  Christ — even 
though  it  should  be  the  result  of  their  own  sin  or  mistake, 
the  heirloom  of  early  indiscretions,  the  better  entail  of  tres- 
pass off  the  narrow  path.  I  have  met  with  those  who  have 
declared  that  they  have  forever  forfeited  their  right  to  the 
richer  experiences  of  the  blessed  life  because  they  have 
wrought  some  wickedness  in  the  past.    What  though  it  has 


78  THE  IVALLS  OF  JERICHO. 

long  ago  been  forgiven,  yet  it  has  left  its  shame,  its  scar, 
its  fatal  offspring,  by  reason  of  which,  in  their  apprehension, 
their  path  into  Canaan  is  barred.  I  have  met  with  others 
who,  eager  enough  to  enjoy  all  that  may  be  experienced  on 
this  side  the  Golden  Gate,  yet  point  to  some  hindrance  in 
the  way,  the  lasting  memorial  of  days  when  the  spirit  was 
less  on  the  alert,  and  conscience  less  sensitive;  and  for 
this  cause  they  too  fear  that  they  can  never  do  more  than 
encamp,  beyond  the  Jordan  indeed,  but  on  the  fringe  of 
the  Land  of  Promise.  Again,  it  may  be  asked.  Who  is 
there  that  has  not  stood,  at  some  period  or  another,  before 
a  Jericho,  right  in  the  pass  to  Canaan  ? 

To  all  such  there  is  infinite  sweetness  and  comfort  in  the 
word  spoken  by  the  Great  Captain  to  Joshua,  standing 
with  bared  foot  on  the  holy  ground,  "  See,  I  have  given 
into  thine  hand  Jericho,  and  the  king  thereof,  and  the 
mighty  men  of  valor." 

Be  still/ — The  hardest  of  all  commandments  this!  That 
our  voice  should  not  be  heard ;  that  no  word  should  pro- 
ceed from  our  mouth ;  that  we  should  utter  our  complaints 
to  God  alone — all  this  is  foreign  to  our  habits  and  taste. 
As  death  is  the  last  enemy  to  be  destroyed  in  the  universe 
of  God,  so  is  the  restraint  of  the  tongue  the  last  lesson 
learned  by  his  children.  We  like  to  air  our  grievances ;  to 
talk  over  our  ailments ;  to  compare  ourselves  with  others ; 
and  to  discuss  the  likeliest  remedies.  We  tell  our  friends 
our  secrets  under  strict  promises  of  confidence,  to  discover 
in  bitter  experience  the  truth  of  the  Master's  words,  that 
what  is  told  into  the  ear  in  closets  will  be  proclaimed  upon 
house-tops. 

It  is  only  the  still  heart  that  can  reflect  the  heaven  of 
God's  overarching  care,  or  detect  the  least  whisper  of  his 
voice  through  its  quiet  atmosphere,  or  know  his  full  grace 
and  power.  Only  when  we  have  quieted  ourselves  as 
weaned  babes  can  we  reach  that  position  in  which  God 


"BE  STILL!"  79 

can  interpose  for  our  help.  Not  dumb  toward  God,  but 
dumb  as  the  dove  amongst  strangers,  or  as  the  lamb  before 
her  shearers.  "  Be  still,"  saith  God,  "  and  know  that  I  am 
God.  I  will  be  exalted  among  the  heathen ;  I  will  be  ex- 
alted in  the  earth."  And  that  soul  may  well  be  still  and 
wait  which  has  learned  that  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  beside  it 
and  the  God  of  Jacob  its  refuge.  To  that  Friend  it  hies 
to  pour  out  its  secret  agony.  In  that  home  it  nestles  as 
in  the  covert  of  a  great  rock,  sheltered  from  the  blast. 

Obey/ — As  in  this  story  so  in  grace,  there^must  be  co- 
operation  between  God  and  man.  The  walls  of  Jericho 
ccHiTd^  fairdown  only HBjT the  exercise  of  divine  power;  but 
the  children  of  Israel  must  needs  encompass  them.  Only 
God  can  give  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him  to  the  seed 
corn ;  but  man  must  plow  and  sow  and  reap  and  thresh 
and  grind.  Only  the  Son  of  God  could  multiply  the  loaves 
or  raise  the  dead ;  but  man  must  provide  and  distribute 
the  broken  bread,  and  roll  the  stone  from  the  sepulcher 
door.  Only  God  can  remove  the  difficulties  that  stand  in 
the  way  of  an  entirely  consecrated  and  blessed  life ;  but 
there  are  commands  and  duties  which  it  is  incumbent  on 
us  to  fulfill. 

What  are  these?  In  some  cases  we  are  withholding 
obedience  that  we  should  give  at  once.  There  are  things 
which  we  ought  to  do,  but  which  we  are  not  doing.  And 
there  is  equal  danger  in  doing  more  than  we  should — en- 
deavoring to  scale  walls  which  we  are  told  to  encompass ; 
shouting  before  the  word  of  command  has  been  uttered ; 
making  the  circuit  of  the  city  oftener  than  the  once  each 
day  prescribed  by  the  divine  ordering.  It  is  so  hard  to 
feel  that  we  do  more  by  doing  less ;  that  we  save  time  by 
resting  quietly  in  our  tents ;  that  it  is  vain  to  rise  up  early, 
and  so  late  take  rest,  because  he  giveth  to  his  beloved 
while  they  sleep. 

Whatever,  then,  is  c/early  borne  in  on  us  as  the  will  of 


8o  THE  IVALLS  OF  JERICHO. 

God,  either  for  us  to  do  or  discontinue  doing,  let  us  imme- 
diately perform ;  and  leave  it  to  him  to  do  all  the  rest. 
Some  must  bear  the  sacred  ark  in  witnessing  to  the  Gospel ; 
others  must  blow  on  the  rams'  horns  perpetual  blasts  of 
victorious  anticipation ;  others,  again,  must  face  the  daily 
routine  in  silence;  but  our  position  should  ever  be  the 
prompt  soldier-Hke  one  that  rang  out  throjigh  Joshua's 
noblli  words,  "  What-saith-Tny  tord'unto  his  servant  ?  " 

Have  faith  / — Look  away  tromr'att"~your  preparations, 
and  even  from  your  God-commanded  acts  to  God  himself ; 
and  as  you  do  so,  your  difficulties  will  melt  away — that 
stone  will  be  rolled  from  the  mouth  of  the  sepulcher ;  that 
iron  gate  will  open  of  its  own  accord ;  those  mighty  walls 
will  fall  down  flat. 

Whatever  it  be  that  seems  an  insuperable  difficulty  to 
your  enjoyment  of  the  best  of  those  things  which  Christ 
has  purchased,  hand  it  over  to  your  Saviour ;  wait  before 
him  in  silence,  till  you  know  what  he  would  have  you  do. 
Be  sure  in  the  meanwhile  to  put  off  all  that  belongs  to  the 
past,  and  cleanse  yourself  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh 
and  spirit ;  then  do  his  bidding,  at  whatever  cost.  At  the 
same  time  believe  that  he  is  working  for  you,  and  that 
the  crooked  places  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
places  smooth,  arid  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
seen  in  your  heart  and  life,  so  that  all  who  know  you  shall 
be  compelled  to  confess  that  the  Lord  has  done  great 
things  for  you.  He  has  given  you  Jericho.  Let  your 
heart  already  dwell  on  that  glad  word.  Though  the  walls 
are  yet  standing,  they  are  as  good  as  gone ;  and  with  their 
ruins  in  your  rear,  you  shall  go  forward  to  possess  the  land. 

II.  In  Christian  Work. — The  Apostle  speaks  of  strong- 
holds that  had  to  be  cast  down,  and  of  high  things  that 
exalted  themselves  against  the  knowledge  of  God;  and 


THE  PERIL  OF  OUR   TIME.  8l 

asserts  that  he  did  not  war  against  such  things  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  and  that  the  weapons  of  his  warfare  were 
not  of  the  flesh,  but  mighty  before  God  for  the  casting 
down  of  strongholds,  and  for  the  bringing  of  every  high 
and  proud  thought  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ. 

What  need  there  is  for  all  Christian  workers  to  ponder 
these  pregnant  words  !  The  peril  of  our  time  is  that  we 
should  get  away  from  the  simplicity  of  the  early  Church, 
which  went  into  the  conflict  with  the  mighty  superstitions 
and  flagrant  sins  of  its  age  with  no  weapons  save  those  that 
may  be  found  in  symbol  in  this  old-world  incident.  There 
were  the  white  robes  of  priestly  purity ;  the  lifting  up  of 
the  propitiation  of  Christ ;  the  blowing  of  the  rams'  horns ; 
the  Gospel  message  proclaimed  with  no  silver  cadence,  but 
with  rude  and  startling  effect,  as  a  summons  to  surrender. 
It  was  in  the  use  of  such  weapons  as  these  that  giant  forms 
of  error  collapsed,  and  hoary  systems  of  idolatry  were  dis- 
solved like  morning  mists  touched  by  the  warm  fingers  of 
the  sun. 

With  what  dismay  would  the  confessors  and  martyrs, 
the  prophets  and  apostles  of  primitive  Christianity  view 
the  methods  with  which  we  assail  the  monster  forms  of 
vice  that  confront  us !  Drink  is  intrenched  behind  mighty 
fortifications — the  bastions  and  walls  of  social  custom  and 
habit,  of  national  usage  and  immense  revenues.  Impiuity 
has  built  around  itself  a  girdle  of  defense,  flaunts  itself 
undismayed  in  our  streets,  and  mocks  us  from  the  gilded 
splendor  of  music-hall  and  theater.  The  opium  traffic 
laughs  us  to  scorn — supported  by  government;  minister- 
ing to  an  inveterate  habit ;  willing  to  pay  a  handsome  sura 
for  its  right  to  exist.  The  depravity  of  the  human  heart 
is  another  Jericho,  in  which  there  are  the  towers  of  spirit- 
ualism, indiiference,  pride,  and  high  imagination,  which 
proudly  rear  themselves  against  the  law  of  God.     And  in 


82  THE  IVALLS  OF  JERICHO. 

the  case  of  each  individual  worker  there  is  almost  certainly 
some  Jericho  in  the  apathy  of  fellow-workers,  the  spirit  of 
opposition  from  other  Christians,  or  the  special  forms  of 
sin  that  are  rampant  in  the  sphere  intrusted  to  his  care. 

When  confronted  with  all  these  things  we  are  apt  to  fight 
the  world  with  weapons  borrowed  from  its  arsenals,  and 
to  adopt  methods  which  savor  rather  of  the  flesh  than  of 
the  spirit.  It  is  a  great  mistake.  Our  only  hope  is  to  act 
on  strictly  spiritual  lines,  because  we  wrestle  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,  but  with  the  wicked  spirits  that  He  behind  all 
that  is  seen  in  this  world  of  men  and  things.  If  we  can 
overthrow  the  dark  spirits  that  abet  and  maintain,  we  shall 
see  the  system  which  they  support  crumble  as  a  palace  of 
clouds  before  the  wind. 

Let  us  be  pure  and  holy,  giving  time  to  heart-searching 
in  the  presence  of  the  Captain;  let  us  Hft  up  the  sacri- 
fice and  work  of  Jesus ;  let  us  blow  the  Gospel  trumpet  of 
alarm  and  summons  to  surrender ;  let  us  be  much  in  silent 
prayer  before  God;  let  us  cherish  a  spirit  of  unity  and 
love,  as  the  tribes  of  Israel  forgot  their  differences  in  one 
common  expedition  against  their  foes;  above  all,  let  us 
beheve  in  the  presence  and  cooperation  of  God,  and  we 
shall  see  the  old  miracle  repeated,  and  the  walls  of  Jericho 
fall  down  flat. 

III.  In  the  Story  of  the  Church. — This_capture 
of  Jericho  is  surely  capable  of  being  read  as^aj)arable  of 
things  that  af e~yerTo^e72^We  Jknow  that  the  world  lieth 
in  the  power  of"  the  wicked_one._J[tJiasJDrLgJ]iDasted  itself 
against'GodTwith  its  mighty  walls_and  gate^;  and  it  would 
seem  as^ifTHelTmFwillliever  come  of  which  psalmists  and 
kings  have  sung  and  spoken  in  rapturous  phrase. 

In~the  meanwhifelheTariMs^tribes  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  ha\^been  perambulaBiog^lliout^he-i^      subjected 


A  PARABLE  OF  THINGS   TO  COME.  83 

to  much  derision  and  mockery,  though  sometimes  a  sicken- 
ing premonition  of  approaching  judgment  must  steal  upon 
£he  hearts  oflKe  votaries  of  worldliness.  For  nearly  nine- 
"teeiTcenturies  the  circuit  has  been  made,  the  trumpet-blast 
uttered,  the  Testimbliy  inamtaihedl  And  surely  the  seven 
days^vFnearly  expired. 

It  i^aybe_ that  this  narrative  of  the  taking  of  Canaan  is 
even  a  miniature  anticipation  of  what  is  yet  to  transpire 
m  IKarfurure  which  is  probably  so  near.  God  has  given 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world  to  his  Son ;  but  they  will  have 
to  be  engirdled  by  the  sacramental  hosts  of  his  elect  until 
he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule  and  authority  and  power. 


IX. 

^tuBt  anb  fUefeat. 

(Joshua  viii.  i,  2.) 

"  *  Now,  Christians,  hold  your  own — the  land  before  ye 
Is  open — win  your  way,  and  take  your  rest.' 
So  sounds  our  war-note ;  but  our  path  of  glory 
By  many  a  cloud  is  darkened  and  unblest." 

Keble. 

THE  conquest  of  Canaan  occupied  seven  years,  and 
during  the  whole  of  that  time  Israel  lost  but  one 
battle ;  indeed,  the  six-and-thirty  men  smitten  in  the  head- 
long flight  before  the  men  of  Ai  seem  to  have  been  the  only 
loss  which  their  hosts  sustained.  The  story  of  this  defeat 
is  told  with  great  minuteness,  because  it  involved  lessons 
of  the  greatest  moment  to  Israel,  and  of  incalculable  value 
to  ourselves. 

The  experience  of  defeat  is  far  too  common  to  the 
majority  of  Christians.  They  are  constantly  turning  their 
backs  before  their  enemies.  They  are  defeated  by  in- 
dwelling sin  and  the  assaults  of  Satan,  and  by  the  mighty 
evils  which  they  assail  in  the  name  of  God.  But  instead 
of  taking  their  defeats  to  heart,  they  become  inured  to 
them.  For  the  time  they  are  filled  with  mortification  and 
chagrin,  but  the  impression  soon  wears  away.  They  do 
not  He  on  their  faces  before  God,  eager  to  discover  the 
cause  of  failure,  to  deal  with  it,  and  to  advance  from  the 

84 


CAUSES   OF   THE  DEFEAT.  85 

scene  of  defeat  to  wider  and  more  permanent  success.  If 
we  but  carefully  investigated  the  causes  of  our  defeats,  they 
would  be  only  second  to  victories  in  their  blessed  results 
on  our  character  and  Hves. 

There  were  three  causes  for  this  defeat. 

I.  They  were  Self-confident  because  Ai  was 
Small. — Jericho  was  a  heap  of  smoldering  ruins.  Man 
and  woman,  both  young  and  old,  and  ox  and  sheep  and 
ass,  all  had  been  utterly  destroyed  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword.  The  only  relics  were — the  silver  and  gold  and 
vessels  of  brass  and  iron  which  had  been  placed  among 
the  precious  stores  of  the  Tabernacle ;  the  woman  Rahab, 
her  people  and  her  property;  and  a  certain  Babylonish 
garment,  some  silver  shekels,  and  a  wedge  of  gold,  of 
which  we  shall  hear  again. 

Fearing  no  attack  from  the  rear,  Joshua  at  once  set  his 
face  toward  the  interior  of  the  country,  and  chose  a  deep 
gorge  or  ravine,  which  lay  a  little  toward  the  north,  as  the 
passage-way  for  his  army.  Eight  miles  from  its  opening 
on  the  Jordan  valley  this  ravine  met  another,  "  in  a  wild 
entanglement  of  hill  and  valley,"  and  near  the  junction  of 
the  two  stood  the  little  town  of  Ai,  with  a  population  of 
twelve  thousand  persons.  The  proportion  of  fighting  men 
has  been  calculated  at  about  two  thousand ;  but  the  situa- 
tion was  strong  and  commanded  the  pass,  so  that  Joshua 
had  no  alternative  but  to  mete  out  to  it  the  same  terrible 
fate  as  that  with  which  he  had  visited  Jericho. 

Speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  there  was  consider- 
able force  in  the  report  of  the  spies  sent  up  the  valley  to 
reconnoiter.  The  place  was  much  smaller  than  Jericho, 
and  would  apparently  require  much  less  expenditure  of 
time  and  strength  for  its  capture.  Jericho  may  have 
needed  the  entire  host ;  but  for  Ai,  some  three  thousand 


86  ARREST  AND  DEFEAT. 

men  would  surely  suffice.  "  Make  not  all  the  people  to 
toil  thither ;   for  they  [i.e.,  the  men  of  Ai]  are  but  few." 

But  this  recommendation  went  on  the  supposition  that 
Jericho  had  been  overthrown  by  the  attack  of  the  hosts 
of  Israel ;  whereas,  in  point  of  fact,  they  had  had  singu- 
larly httle  to  do  with  it.  They  had  walked  around  it,  and 
shouted — that  was  all.  It  had  been  taken  by  their  great 
Captain  and  Leader,  and  by  him  given  into  their  hands. 
The  silence  that  reigned  over  its  site  was  no  criterion  of 
their  might,  but  of  his.  To  speak  as  they  did  was  to  ignore 
the  real  facts  of  the  case,  and  to  argue  as  though  the  vic- 
tory were  due  to  some  inherent  qualities  in  themselves; 
with  the  inference  that  because  they  had  conquered  at 
Jericho  they  must  therefore  necessarily  conquer  at  Ai. 

There  is  no  experience  in  the  Christian  life  so  full  of 
peril  as  the  hour  when  we  are  flushed  with  recent  victory. 
Then  comes  the  temptation  to  sacrifice  to  our  net,  and  bum 
incense  to  our  drag.  We  magnify  our  part  in  the  conflict 
till  it  fills  the  whole  range  of  vision.  We  boast  to  ourselves 
that  we  have  gotten  th^  land  in  possession  by  our  own 
sword,  and  that  our  own  arm  has  saved  us.  Counting 
from  our  great  triumph  at  Jericho,  we  despise  such  a  small 
obstacle  as  Ai.  Surely,  we  argue,  if  we  have  carried  the 
one,  we  shall  easily  prevail  at  the  other  !  And  so  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  a  great  success  in  public  is  followed 
by  a  fall  in  private ;  that  those  who  had  swept  all  before 
them  in  the  pulpit  or  on  the  platform  are  overcome  by 
some  miserable  appetite,  or  by  petulance  in  the  home ;  and 
the  bitter  regret  of  that  sin  wipes  out  all  the  glad  exhilara- 
tion of  the  hour  of  victory.  We  never  so  need  to  observe 
the  injunction  to  "  watch  and  pray  "  as  when  the  foe  is  fly- 
ing before  us.  When  the  mighty  convocation  breaks  up, 
its  convictions  having  been  turned  by  our  single  voice — as 
in  the  story  of  Elijah — and  as  the  people  are  departing 


FELLOIVSHIP  IVITH  GOD.  87 

to  their  homes,  and  the  bodies  of  the  priests  of  Baal  choke 
the  Kishon,  we  must  be  careful  to  go  up  to  the  top  of  Car- 
mel,  where  we  had  girded  ourselves  for  the  conflict,  and, 
bowing  to  the  earth,  put  our  face  between  our  knees  in 
prayer. 

Had  Joshua  acted  thus,  he  would  never  have  been  in- 
duced by  the  words  of  the  spies  to  reason  on  mere  miHtary 
grounds ;  he  would  never  have  presumed  on  the  insignifi- 
cance of  the  Httle  town ;  and  he  would  never  have  had  the 
anguish  of  seeing  his  panic-stricken  soldiers  come  rushing 
down  the  rugged  pass,  or  sheltering  in  the  stone-quarries 
on  either  hand,  whilst  the  men  of  Ai,  in  full  pursuit,  were 
cutting  down  the  hindmost  and  least  nimble. 

There  is  nothing  small  in  Christian  life — nothing  so  small 
that  we  can  combat  it  in  our  own  strength.  Apart  from 
God,  the  smallest  temptations  will  be  more  than  a  match 
for  us.  So  weak  are  we,  that  occasions  of  sin,  which  are 
perfectly  contemptible  in  themselves,  will  overthrow  our 
most  confident  resolutions.  The  victories  which  we  have 
won  in  fellowship  with  God  have  imparted  no  inherent 
might  to  us ;  we  are  as  weak  as  ever ;  and  directly  we  are 
brought  into  collision  with  the  least  of  our  enemies,  apart 
from  him,  we  shall  inevitably  go  down  before  the  shock. 
The  faith,  watchfulness,  and  fellowship  with  God,  which 
availed  before  Jericho,  can  alone  serve  as  the  key  to  Ai. 

II.  They  Failed  to  Wait  on  God. — An  accursed 
thing  in  their  midst  broke  the  link  of  fellowship  between 
them  and  the  hosts  that  served  beneath  the  celestial  Warrior 
who  had  appeared  to  Joshua.  And  though  it  must  have 
been  a  severe  sorrow  to  Jehovah  to  inflict  sorrow  on  his 
people,  yet  for  their  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  his  holy 
name,  the  sin  must  be  judged  and  put  away.  Joshua 
pleaded,  "  What  wilt  thou  do  for  thy  great  Name  ?  "     But 


88  ARREST  AND  DEFEAT. 

it  was  for  that  very  reason  that  the  defeat  had  been  per- 
mitted. 

There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  if  Joshua  had  been  in 
abiding  fellowship  with  God,  the  Spirit  of  God  would  have 
indicated  the  presence  of  evil  in  the  host ;  so  that  Achan 
and  his  sin  would  have  been  discovered  and  judged  before 
the  march  to  Ai.  It  was  so  in  an  analogous  case  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  What  Achan  was  to  Israel,  that 
Ananias  and  his  wife  were  to  the  early  Church.  The  fifth 
chapter  of  the  Acts  would  have  recorded  some  great  defeat 
or  crushing  disaster,  if  it  had  not  contained  the  story  of  the 
discernment  on  the  part  of  the  apostle  Peter,  and  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  of  the  accursed  thing  to  which  the  guilty  pair 
were  privy. 

If  we  may  dare  to  imagine  what  would  have  been  the 
consequence  in  the  primitive  Church  had  that  root  of  evil 
been  left  unextirpated,  we  should  be  obliged  not  only  to  wipe 
out  the  record  of  the  signs  and  wonders  wrought  among 
the  people,  of  the  unity  of  the  disciples,  and  of  the  burst 
doors  of  the  prison ;  but  we  should  have  to  interpolate  an 
account  of  how  the  hosts  of  God,  in  diminished  numbers, 
gave  back  before  the  fury  of  their  adversaries ;  of  how 
Peter  lay  with  his  face  in  the  dust  of  the  Temple  courts ; 
of  how  panic  and  dismay  filled  the  hearts  of  leaders  and 
led;  and  of  how  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  blas- 
phemed, and  his  character  traduced.  But  none  of  these 
things  befell,  because  the  Spirit  of  God  was  able  to  utter 
his  unhindered  testimony. 

Very  important  is  it  for  us  to  heed  the  Apostle's  warning, 
"  if  we  discerned  ourselves  we  should  not  be  judged."  God 
sees  the  little  rift  in  the  lute ;  the  spot  of  decay  in  the 
fruit;  the  ulcer  in  the  flesh,  threatening  to  eat  away  its 
vitality.  These  may  not  be  realized  by  us ;  but  he  knows 
how  inevitably  they  must  lead  to  defeat.     Nor  is  he  slow 


SEEK  COUNSEL  OF  GOD.  89 

to  warn  us  of  them.  Yet  of  what  use  is  it  for  him  to  speak 
to  deaf  ears ;  or  to  those  who  are  self-confident  in  their 
own  wisdom ;  or  who  pride  themselves  on  victories  which 
were  wholly  his  gift?  Amid  the  gayety  of  the  revel,  we 
do  not  see  the  handwriting  on  the  wall ;  amid  the  unani- 
mous advice  of  the  false  prophets,  we  do  not  inquire  for 
the  one  voice  that  may  speak  evil  of  our  plans ;  amid  the 
radiant  sunlight  of  the  morning,  in  which  the  dancing 
wavelets  flash,  we  do  not  care  to  see  the  falling  glass,  or 
be  guided  by  the  dark  prognostications  of  the  weather- 
beaten  sailor.  Probably  there  is  no  single  temptation  which 
has  not  to  claim  permission  of  God  before  it  touches  us. 
He  who  permits  it  prays  for  us,  raising  his  voice  in  lonely 
vigil  whilst  we  sleep,  anticipating  the  attack  by  ambushes 
of  intercession.  Yea,  not  content  with  this,  he  warns  us 
not  once  or  twice ;  he  even  touches  us  with  fingers  that 
would  thrill  us  were  we  not  insensible,  steeped  in  spiritual 
lethargy. 

Where  God's  children,  like  Joshua,  are  oblivious  to  the 
warning  voices  which  speak  in  ever  fainter  tones  as  they 
are  disregarded,  God  is  compelled  to  let  them  take  their 
cotuse  until  some  terrible  disaster  flings  them  on  their 
faces  to  the  ground.  Ah,  if  Joshua  had  only  prostrated 
himself  amid  the  shoutings  of  victory  over  Jericho,  there 
would  have  been  no  need  for  him  to  prostrate  himself 
amid  the  outcry  of  a  panic-stricken  host!  If  he  had  only 
sought  counsel  of  God  before  he  sent  the  spies  up  the 
pass,  there  would  have  been  no  need  to  ask  what  he  should 
do  to  repair  his  defeat.  The  iron  pruning-knife  of  trouble 
has  to  do  for  many  of  us,  roughly  and  hurtfully,  what  the 
silver  pruning-knife  of  the  Word  of  God  might  have 
effected. 

Before  ever  we  make  some  new  advance,  although  the 
point  of  attack  be  but  an  Ai,  it  is  our  duty,  as  it  is  our 


90  ARREST  AND  DEFEAT. 

best  policy,  to  get  back  to  Gilgal.  Joshua  does  not  seem 
to  have  returned  there  after  the  fall  of  Jericho.  We  ought 
to  seclude  ourselves  in  spiritual  converse  with  our  Almighty 
Confederate,  asking  if  he  has  aught  to  say  to  us ;  entreat- 
ing that  he  should  reveal  any  evil  thing  that  he  may  see  in 
us,  and  mustering  the  tribes  of  our  heart  before  his  scrutiny, 
that  the  Achan  lurking  there  may  be  brought  to  light  be- 
fore, instead  of  after,  the  fight. 

III.  They  had  Committed  a  Trespass  in  the  De- 
voted Thing. — (i)  Joshua  was  inclined  to  lay  the  charge 
of  their  failure  on  God.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  the 
Almighty  had  done  ill  by  them  in  bringing  them  into  the 
heart  of  such  mighty  difficulties.  In  his  judgment,  warped  by 
the  presence  of  disaster,  it  appeared  as  if  it  had  been  better 
for  the  camp  to  have  remained  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan. 
The  dreariest  anticipations  of  defeat  and  destruction  passed 
in  spectral  form  before  him.  He  spoke  as  one  whom  faith 
had  deserted,  the  locks  of  his  might  shorn,  and  himself  no 
longer  a  hero,  but,  like  the  Canaanites  themselves,  whose 
heart  had  melted  as  his  did  now.  But,  in  point  of  fact, 
the  blame  lay  not  with  God,  who  was  engaged  in  conduct- 
ing his  people  within  reach  of  superlative  blessedness,  but 
wholly  with  themselves. 

There  are  times  in  our  lives  when  we  are  disposed  to 
find  fault  with  God.  "Why,  Great  Potter,  hast  thou 
made  me  thus  ?  Why  was  I  ever  taken  out  of  my  quiet 
home,  or  country  parish,  or  happy  niche  of  service,  to  be 
plunged  into  this  sea  of  difficulties?  "  When  we  are  smart- 
ing from  some  defeat,  caused  by  the  overpowering  might 
or  the  clever  strategy  of  the  foe,  we  are  prone  to  blame 
God ;  either  that  our  nature  was  not  stronger,  or  that  he 
has  brought  us  from  the  shelter  of  comparative  obscurity 
and  placed  us  on  the  mountain  slope  where  the  storms 


"NONE  UVETH   TO  HIMSELF."  yi 

expend  their  wildest  fury.  Alas !  we  forget  that  our  Father 
brings  us  across  the  Jordan  to  give  us  larger  experiences, 
to  open  before  us  vaster  possibilities,  to  give  us  a  better 
chance  of  acquiring  his  unsearchable  riches.  There  is  no 
task  without  sufficiency  of  grace ;  no  foe  without  a  suffi- 
ciency of  victorious  power ;  no  trial  without  a  sufficiency  of 
resource  by  which,  as  in  the  old  dream  of  the  alchemist, 
the  hardest,  commonest  metal  may  be  transformed  to  gold. 

The  defeats  that  we  incur  in  the  Land  of  Promise  are 
not  necessary.  They  are  due  entirely  to  some  failure  in 
ourselves,  and  they  cause  grief  to  the  immortal  Lover  of 
our  souls.  There  is  no  reason  for  defeat  in  the  Christian 
hfe ;  always  and  everywhere  we  are  meant  to  be  more  than 
conquerors.  The  course  of  the  Christian  warrior  should 
be  as  the  sun  when  he  goeth  forth  in  his  strength,  and  in 
regular  gradients  drives  his  chariot  from  the  eastern  wave 
up  the  steep  of  heaven.  Child  of  God,  never  lay  the 
blame  of  your  failure  on  God ;  seek  for  it  within  ! 

(2)  One  Israehte  only  had  trespassed,  and  yet  it  is  said, 
"The  children  of  Israel  committed  a  trespass  in  the  devoted 
thing."  Not  one  of  us  stands  alone ;  we  cannot  sin  with- 
out insensibly  affecting  the  spiritual  condition  of  all  our 
fellows.  We  cannot  grow  cold  without  lowering  the  tem- 
perature of  all  contiguous  hearts.  We  cannot  pass  upward 
without  lifting  others.  No  asteroid  revolves  through  space 
without  affecting  the  position  and  speed  of  every  member 
of  its  system.  No  grain  lies  upon  the  seashore  without 
influencing  all  its  companion  grains.  "  None  of  us  liveth 
to  himself,  and  none  dieth  to  himself."  "Whether  one 
member  suffereth,  all  the  members  suffer  with  it ;  or  one 
member  is  honored,  all  the  members  rejoice  with  it." 

If  Israel  had  but  realized  how  much  the  safety  of  the 
whole  depended  on  the  obedience  of  each,  every  individual 
would  have  watched  his  brethren,  as  he  watched  himself, 


92  ARREST  AND  DEFEAT, 

not  for  their  sakes  alone,  but  for  his  own ;  and  did  the 
members  of  Christian  communities  understand  how  vast 
an  influence  for  weal  or  woe  depends  upon  the  choice,  the 
decision,  the  action  of  any,  there  would  be  a  fuller  and 
more  intelligent  obedience  to  the  reiterated  injunctions  of 
the  New  Testament — for  the  strong  to  bear  the  infirmities 
of  the  weak ;  for  the  loftiest  to  stoop  to  wash  the  feet  of 
the  lowliest ;  and  for  all  to  look  not  on  their  own  things 
only,  but  also  on  the  things  of  others.  "  Looking  carefully 
lest  any  man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God." 

Should  these  words  be  read  by  any  soul  which  is  con- 
scious of  playing  an  Achan's  part,  let  it  take  warning,  and 
whilst  it  is  called  To-day,  confess,  restore,  and  repent. 
Not  only  that  it  may  escape  an  inevitable  judgment ;  but 
that  it  may  not  bring  disaster  and  defeat  upon  those  with 
whom  it  associates,  dragging  the  innocent  down  into  the 
vortex  of  a  common  fate.  The  hands  of  Achan  were  stained 
with  the  blood  of  the  thirty-six  that  perished  in  the  flight 
to  Shebarim. 

(3)  How  careless  we  are  of  God's  distinct  prohibitions! 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  clearly  promulgated  than 
the  command  to  leave  the  spoils  of  Jericho  untouched. 
The  city  and  its  contents  were  devoted  to  utter  destruction, 
a  specified  number  of  articles  only  being  preserved  for 
Tabernacle  use.  This  ordinance  was  probably  intended  to 
preserve  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  temptation  which 
must  have  accrued,  had  they  glutted  themselves  with  the 
spoils  of  the  city.  The  abstinence  tended  to  strengthen 
their  character,  and  to  educate  their  faith.  But  to  Achan, 
the  will  of  God  was  overborne  by  the  lust  of  his  eyes  and 
the  pride  of  Hfe.  The  strong  tide  of  passion  swept  him 
over  the  barrier  reared  by  the  divine  word. 

Let  us  not,  however,  judge  him  too  hardly.  He  is  not 
the  last  who  has  acted  in  distinct  violation  of  divine  com- 


COMPLACENT  DISOBEDIENCE.  93 

mands.  The  Bible  is  full  of  prohibitions  against  the  love 
of  the  world,  the  love  of  dress,  the  love  of  money ;  against 
censoriousness,  and  pride,  and  unhallowed  ambition; 
against  the  Babylonish  garment  and  the  wedge  of  gold ; 
and  yet  thousands  of  Christian  people  hve  in  complacent 
disobedience,  as  if  God  were  one  of  themselves,  or  as  if  his 
words  were  unsubstantial  as  smoke.  What  wonder  that 
the  force'^  of  his  Israel  meet  with  defeat,  and  that  the  old 
word  is  verified  in  individual  experience  and  in  the  history 
of  the  church,  "  Israel  hath  sinned ;  yea,  they  have  even 
transgressed  my  covenant  which  I  commanded  them ;  yea, 
they  have  even  taken  of  the  devoted  thing.  Therefore 
they  cannot  stand  before  their  enemies.  I  will  not  be  with 
you  any  more,  except  ye  destroy  the  devoted  thing  iiom. 
among  you." 


®l)e  baik^  of  ^cljot. 

(Joshua  vii.) 

"  No  cloud  across  the  sun 
But  passes  at  the  last,  and  gives  us  back 
The  face  of  God  once  more." 

KiNGSLEY. 

WAS  it  a  sudden  gust  of  temptation  that  swept  Achan 
before  it  when,  with  the  rest  of  the  host,  he  entered 
Jericho  ?  or  was  it  that  some  long  growth  of  unjudged  evil 
flowered  into  that  act  which  has  made  his  name  a  reproach 
to  all  after-time?  It  is  impossible  to  say.  Only  the  terri- 
bleness  of  his  fate  seems  to  indicate  something  more  than 
a  transient  yielding  to  sin.  This,  at  least,  is  clear,  that  in 
the  late  afternoon  of  the  day  of  Jericho's  capture,  and  be- 
fore the  lurid  flames  of  its  conflagration  rose  to  heaven,  he 
had  pilfered  one  of  those  robes  of  exquisite  texture  for 
which  the  plain  of  Shinar  was  famous,  together  with  gold 
and  silver — the  latter  coined,  the  former  in  a  wedge,  and 
had  borne  them  surreptitiously  away. 

We  can  imagine  him  bringing  them  into  his  tent,  where 
he  probably  found  it  necessary  to  acquaint  his  children  with 
his  deed ;  for  if  they  had  not  been  party  to  the  crime  and 
its  concealment,  they  could  hardly  have  been  involved  in 
his  terrible  fate.  With  their  help  he  dug  a  hole  in  the  sand 
and  hid  the  spoil,  which  by  the  special  ban  of  Joshua  had 
been  devoted  to  Jehovah. 

The  whole  proceeding  had  been  conducted  in  such  abso- 
94 


THE  SINFULNESS   OF  SIN.  95 

lute  secrecy,  and  he  was  so  confident  of  the  collusion  of 
the  inmates  of  his  tent,  that,  amid  the  general  inquiry  for 
the  thief,  he  braved  detection,  and  held  his  peace  until  the 
unerring  finger  of  God  pointed  him  out,  as  if  he  had  said, 
"Thou  art  the  man!" 

But  what  anguish  he  must  have  suffered  in  the  mean- 
while! Long  before  his  deed  was  immasked,  conscience 
had  borne  witness  against  him ;  and  the  lot  had  been  cast 
within  the  circle  of  his  heart.  The  scene  in  which  he 
played  so  prominent  a  part  on  the  plains  of  Jericho  was  re- 
hearsed where  no  crowds  of  awestruck  spectators  gathered 
round,  no  blanched  faces  looked  upon  his,  and  no  horror- 
stricken  messengers  ran  to  the  tent  to  unearth  the  hidden 
treasure. 

When  the  first  excitement  of  his  new  acquisition  had 
passed,  and  the  fever  had  subsided,  the  dull,  heavy  sense 
of  wrong-doing  began  to  gnaw  at  his  heart.  In  the  lull  of 
reaction,  conscience  spoke ;  and  when  he  marched  with  the 
rest  up  the  long  ravine  to  Ai,  when  he  saw  his  comrades 
turn  to  flee,  when  he  joined  in  the  breathless  rush  back  to 
the  camp,  when  he  met  the  relatives  of  the  six-and-thirty 
men  who  had  fallen  in  the  battle,  when  he  saw  the  dismay 
beneath  which  Joshua  and  the  elders  of  Israel  were  over- 
whelmed— he  knew,  by  an  unerring  spiritual  perception, 
that  it  was  his  sin  that  was  bringing  shame  and  disaster  to 
Israel.  It  must  have  been  a  positive  rehef  to  him  when 
his  secret  was  torn  from  his  breast,  and  there  was  no  need 
to  preserve  longer  the  appearance  of  comparative  uncon- 
cern. Let  us  turn  aside  and  study  this  scene  in  which 
Achan's  sin  was  detected  and  dealt  with ;  for  whilst  we  do 
so,  we  may  learn  something  of  the  action  of  that  sharp, 
two-edged  sword  which  pierces  to  the  dividing  asunder  of 
soul  and  spirit,  and  discerns  the  thoughts  and  intents  of 
the  heart. 


96  THE  y ALLEY  OF  ACHOR. 

I.  We  should  Grieve  more  for  Sin  than  for  its 
Results. — Joshua  rent  his  clothes,  and  fell  to  the  earth 
upon  his  face  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord  until  the  evening ; 
smarting  from  the  disgrace  inflicted  upon  his  people,  and 
aghast  at  the  results  which  would  probably  ensue  so  soon 
as  the  tidings  had  been  bruited  abroad.  Judging  simply 
by  human  standards,  the  very  worst  consequences  might 
be  expected  when  the  nations  of  Canaan  suddenly  discov- 
ered that  the  Israelite  hosts  were  not  invulnerable.  This 
was  Joshua's  fear,  that  the  Canaanites  and  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  land  should  hear  of  it,  and  compass  them 
round,  and  cut  off  their  name  from  the  earth. 

As  soon  as  we  have  committed  sin,  we  look  furtively 
round  to  see  whether  we  have  been  watched ;  and  then  we 
take  measures  to  tie  up  the  consequences  which  would 
naturally  accrue.  Failing  this,  we  are  deeply  humiliated. 
Saul  was  much  more  moved  by  his  desire  for  Samuel  to 
worship  the  Lord  with  him,  and  so  honor  him  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  elders  of  Israel,  than  by  his  disobedience  to  the 
divine  will.  We  dread  the  consequences  of  sin  more  than 
the  sin  itself ;  discovery  more  than  misdoing ;  what  others 
may  say  and  do  more  than  the  look  of  pain  and  sorrow 
on  the  face  that  looks  out  on  us  from  the  encircling  throng 
of  glorified  spirits. 

But  with  God  it  is  not  so.  It  is  our  sin,  one  of  the  most 
grievous  features  in  which  is  our  failure  to  recognize  its  in- 
trinsic evil,  that  presses  him  down,  as  a  cart  groans  beneath 
its  load.  The  boy  grieves  because  sickness  shuts  him  away 
from  his  companions — the  excursion  on  the  river;  the 
game  in  the  woods ;  the  swift  gliding  over  the  deep  blue 
ice  on  the  ringing  skate ;  but  th^  mother  grieves  over  the 
disease,  of  which  the  burning  fever  or  the  labored  breath 
is  the  symptom.     In  the  heart  of  the  mother,  sorrow  for 


REALIZATION  OF  SIN.  97 

the  disappointment  of  the  child  is  almost  obliterated  by  the 
eager  anxiety  that  bends  over  his  bed. 

Very  few  of  us  realize  what  sin  is,  because  we  have  had 
no  experience  of  a  character  without  it,  either  in  ourselves 
or  in  others.  People  speak  of  being  entirely  delivered  from 
sin,  but  they  know  not  what  they  say,  or  whereof  they 
affirm.  None  that  has  been  born  of  woman,  save  One, 
has  ever  had  the  experience  of  a  perfectly  sinless  character. 
Babes  seem  pure  as  the  unfolding  lily,  which  has  not  been 
freckled  or  soiled  by  contact  with  earth-stains,  but  they 
had  been  purer ;  Christian  maidens  are  sweet  and  lovely, 
but  they  had  been  loveher;  saints  seem  blameless  and 
harmless,  but  they  had  been  saintlier — if  they  had  not  been 
originally  connected  with  a  fallen  race. 

It  is,  of  course,  possible  to  learn  something  of  the  ex- 
ceeding sinfulness  of  sin  by  viewing  the  agony,  heart-break, 
and  shame,  of  the  dying  Lord ;  by  remembering  its  infinite 
cost  to  the  love  of  God ;  by  recalling  the  comparisons  of 
Scripture,  in  which  the  most  loathsome  forms  of  disease 
are  its  chosen  types ;  or  by  considering  the  worm  that  never 
dies,  the  fire  that  is  never  quenched.  And  yet  the  true 
way  to  a  proper  realization  of  sin  is  to  cultivate  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Holy  God.  The  more  we  know  him,  the  more 
utterly  we  shall  enter  into  his  thought  about  the  subtle  evil 
of  our  heart.  We  shall  find  sin  lurking  where  we  least  an- 
ticipated— in  our  motives;  in  our  rehgious  acts;  in  our 
hasty  judgment  of  others ;  in  our  want  of  tender,  sensitive, 
pitying  love;  in  our  censorious  condemnation  of  those 
who  may  be  restrained  by  the  action  of  a  more  sensitive 
conscience  than  our  own,  from  claiming  all  that  we  claim 
to  possess.  We  shall  learn  that  every  look,  tone,  gesture, 
word,  thought,  which  is  not  consistent  with  perfect  love,  in- 
dicates that  the  virus  of  sin  has  not  yet  been  expelled  from 


98  THE  yALLEY  OF  ACHOR. 

our  nature ;  and  we  shall  come  to  mourn  not  so  much 
for  the  results  of  sin,  as  for  the  sin  itself.  This  is  the  godly 
sorrow  that  needs  not  to  be  repented  of.  Here  are  tears 
which  angels  catch  in  God's  tear-bottles.  In  hours  Hke 
these  we  approach  most  nearly  the  world  where  sin  is  hated ; 
not  because  it  cost  us  Paradise,  for  that  has  been  more 
than  replaced — but  because  it  is  sin, 

II.  We  should  Submit  Ourselves  to  the  Judg- 
ment OF  God. — ''And  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua,  Get 
thee  up ;  wherefore  liest  thou  thus  upon  thy  face  ?  "  It 
was  as  if  he  had  said,  "  Thou  grievest  for  the  effect ;  grieve 
rather  for  the  cause.  I  am  well  able  to  preserve  my  peo- 
ple from  the  assaults  of  their  foes,  though  all  Canaan  beset 
them;  and  I  am  equally  able  to  maintain  the  honor  of 
my  name.  These  are  not  the  main  matters  for  concern : 
but  that  a  worm  is  already  gnawing  at  the  root  of  the 
gourd,  and  a  plague  fs  already  eating  out  the  vitals  of  the 
people  whom  I  have  redeemed.  With  my  right  arm  I  will 
screen  you  from  attack,  whilst  you  give  yourselves  to  the 
investigation  and  destruction  of  the  accursed  thing." 

Whenever  there  is  perpetual  failure  in  our  Hfe,  we  may 
be  sure  that  there  is  some  secret  evil  lurking  in  heart  and 
life.  It  may  not  always  be  possible  for  us  to  go  direct  to 
the  spot  where  the  evil  has  made  its  lair.  But  we  may  be 
sure  that  there  is  an  accursed  thing  somewhere  in  our  midst, 
and  that  therefore  we  cannot  stand  before  our  enemies. 
Somewhere  there  is  a  fault  in  the  insulation  of  the  wire 
through  which  the  currents  of  divine  power  and  grace 
come  to  us ;  and  it  is  useless  to  pray  that  they  may  be  re- 
newed until  we  have  repaired  the  defect.  Much  of  the 
time  spent  in  public  and  secret  prayer  would  be  better 
employed  by  subjecting  our  dealings  with  each  other  and 
our  walk  before  God  to  a  searching  scrutiny.     It  is  a 


SUBMISSION   TO   GOD.  99 

mistake  to  be  on  the  face  pleading  with  God  for  a  blessing 
— and  especially  for  f/ie  blessing  of  Pentecost — whilst  there 
is  some  evil  thing  in  our  hearts  needing  to  be  dealt  with 
ere  the  divine  energies  can  come  to  us.  It  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  God's  willingness  or  unwillingness ;  but  of  the  laws 
of  the  spiritual  world,  which  make  him  unable  to  ally  him- 
self with  consciously  permitted  sin. 

Hast  thou,  reader,  been  beaten  back  in  thy  Christian 
work,  or  exposed  to  perpetual  defeat  by  some  petty  tempta- 
tion? Then  it  would  be  well  to  call  a  halt:  not  to  hold  a 
prayer-meeting;  but  to  order  thy  heart-life  before  God, 
that,  if  thou  canst  not  discern  the  evil  thing  that  hes  at 
the  root  of  thy  trouble,  he  may  discern  it  for  thee,  whose 
eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sword. 

(i)  In  searching  out  the  causes  of  failure,  we  must  be 
willing  to  know  the  worst ;  and  this  is  almost  the  hardest 
condition.  Ostrich-Hke,  we  all  hide  our  heads  in  the  sand 
from  unwelcome  tidings.  It  is  the  voice  of  an  iron  resolu- 
tion, or  of  mature  Christian  experience,  that  can  say  with- 
out faltering,  "  Let  me  know  the  worst."  But  as  we  bare 
ourselves  to  the  good  Physician,  let  us  remember  that  he 
is  our  husband;  that  his  eyes  film  with  love  and  pity; 
that  he  desires  to  indicate  the  source  of  our  sorrow  only  to 
remove  it ;  so  that  for  him  and  for  us  there  may  be  the 
vigor  of  perfect  soul-health  and  consequent  bliss. 

He  will  communicate  the  result  of  his  search  by  methods 
which  are  known  to  his  dehcate  tenderness.  Do  not  get 
into  a  fever.  Do  not  rush  from  one  to  another  for  advice. 
Do  not  bewilder  yourself  with  trying  to  detect  his  voice 
amid  the  tumult  of  voices  that  are  sure  to  clamor  for 
hearing  when  you  bend  down  your  ear  to  listen.  "Be 
still  and  know."  The  responsibihty  of  showing  you  your 
mistake  is  wholly  with  him,  if  you  have  placed  all  in  his 
hands.     Leave  it  there  and  wait.     If  he  has  anything  to 


lOO  THE   GALLEY  OF  ACHOR. 

say,  he  will  say  it  clearly,  unmistakably,  and  certainly.  If 
he  says  nothing,  it  is  because  the  set  time  has  not  come. 
But  to-morrow,  in  the  morning,  it  may  be,  he  will  speak 
to  you  and  tell  you  all.     In  the  meanwhile,  wait  and  trust. 

(2)  When  God  deals  with  sin,  he  traces  back  its  gefiealogy. 
Notice  the  particularity  with  which,  twice  over,  the  sacred 
historian  gives  the  list  of  Achan's  progenitors.  It  is  always, 
"  Achan,  the  son  of  Carmi,  the  son  of  Zabdi,  the  son  of 
Zerah,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah"  (i  ;  16-18). 

There,  in  the  early  morning,  Joshua  and  Phinehas  stood 
to  discern  the  transgressor  with  the  aid  of  the  Urim  and 
Thummim  of  Judgment.  The  princes  of  Israel  passed  be- 
fore them  first ;  and  the  prince  of  Judah  was  taken.  Then 
the  families  of  Judah ;  and  that  of  the  Zarhites  was  taken. 
Then  the  Zarhites,  and  Zabdi  was  taken;  then  Carmi; 
then  Achan.  How  his  heart  must  have  stood  still,  as  he 
saw  the  inevitable  closing  in  of  his  destiny !  — hke  the  con- 
tracting walls  of  a  chamber  of  horrors  on  a  hapless  victim. 

But  sin  is  sporadic.  To  deal  with  it  thoroughly,  we 
need  to  go  back  to  its  parentage.  All  who  have  carefully 
watched  the  processes  of  the  inner  Hfe  bear  witness,  that  a 
long  period  will  often  intervene  between  the  first  germ  of 
sin,  in  a  permitted  thought  or  glance  of  evil,  and  its  flower 
or  fruit  in  act.  We  generally  deal  with  the  wrong  that 
flames  out  before  the  sight  of  our  fellows ;  we  should  go 
behind  to  the  spark  as  it  lay  smoldering  for  hours  be- 
fore, and  to  the  carelessness  which  left  it  there.  We  only 
awake  when  the  rock  disintegrates  and  threatens  to  fall 
upon  our  cottage  roof ;  God  would  lead  us  back  to  the 
moment  when  a  tiny  seed,  borne  on  the  breeze,  floating 
through  the  air,  found  a  lodgment  in  some  crevice  of  our 
heart;  and,  although  the  soil  was  scanty,  succeeded  in 
keeping  its  foothold  till  it  had  struck  down  its  tiny  roots, 
and  gathered  strength  enough  to  split  the  rock  which  had 


HIDDEN  FAULTS.  loi 

given  it  welcome.  And  by  this  insight  into  small  begin- 
nings, our  God  would  for^-arm  us  against  great  catas- 
trophes. 

What  we  call  sin  is  the  outcome  of  sin  permitted,  days 
— perhaps  weeks — before ;  which,  in  the  meanwhile,  had 
been  gathering  strength  within  the  heart.  An  avalanche  is 
the  result  of  the  dislocation  of  a  few  flakes  of  snow,  which 
had  fluttered  from  their  place  weeks  before  the  villagers 
were  overwhelmed  and  smothered  in  their  beds.  There 
is  reason  therefore  for  the  advice  of  the  wise  man :  "  Keep 
thy  heart  above  all  that  thou  guardest ;  for  out  of  it  are  the 
issues  of  life"  (r.v.  marg.).  If  we  would  be  kept  clear 
from  great  transgression,  we  must  see  to  it  that  we  are 
cleared  from  hidden  faults,  so  subtle  and  microscopic  that 
they  would  elude  any  but  a  conscience  kept  sensitive  by 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

In  the  light  of  these  thoughts  we  shall  better  understand 
what  is  meant  by  one  of  the  deepest  passages  in  the  Epis- 
tles. James  tells  us — and  none  could  better  discourse  on 
such  a  theme  than  the  saintly  president  of  the  Apostohc 
Church — that  **  Each  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn 
away  by  his  own  lust,  and  enticed."  A  word  which  surely 
suggests  that  temptation  is  not  wholly  a  matter  without 
the  soul,  as  some  think  !  And  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  The 
lust,  when  it  hath  conceived,  beareth  sin ;  and  the  sin,  when 
it  is  full-grown,  bringeth  forth  death."  Mark  those  words, 
when  it  hath  conceived,  beareth — they  are  very  deep.  In 
nature  there  is  an  interval,  a  period  of  incubation. 

If,  therefore,  you  have  fled  before  Ai,  do  not  be  content 
when  you  have  discovered  Achan ;  but  continue  your  search 
till  you  have  learned  what  gave  him  power  to  hurt  you,  and 
so  work  your  way  through  the  links  in  the  long  chain  till 
you  discover  his  remote  ancestor  in  something  which  you 
did  not  suspect  for  the  moment,  but  which  was  the  guilty 


I02  THE   yALLEY   OF  ACHOR. 

progenitor.  Achan's  own  words  shall  enforce  the  neces- 
sity :    "  I  saw  ...  I  coveted  ...   I  took." 

(3)  It  is  a  good  thing  at  times  to  muster  the  clans  of 
heart  and  life.  We  must  make  the  principal  tribes  of  our 
being  pass  before  God — the  pubhc,  and  private ;  our  be- 
havior in  the  business,  the  family,  the  church — until  one 
of  them  is  taken.  Then  examine  that  department,  go- 
ing through  its  various  aspects  and  engagements,  analyz- 
ing it  in  days,  or  duties;  resolving  it  into  its  various  ele- 
ments; and  scrutinizing  each.  The  auditor  of  accounts 
in  some  great  business  house,  called  in  to  discover  the 
source  of  leakage,  will  for  obvious  reasons  eliminate  from 
his  inquiry  certain  of  the  ledgers  representing  the  more 
prosperous  branches  of  the  trade ;  and  thus  he  narrows  his 
inquiries  within  a  smaller  and  yet  smaller  range. 

This  duty  of  self-examination  should  be  pursued  by  those 
who  have  least  relish  for  it,  as  most  likely  they  really  need 
it ;  whilst  those  who  are  naturally  of  an  introspective  dis- 
position will  probably  apply  themselves  to  the  task  without 
being  reminded  of  the  necessity  of  so  doing,  and  should 
guard  against  its  excess  and  abuse.  Whoever  undertakes 
it  should  do  so  on  reliance  on  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  give 
ten  glances  to  the  Blessed  Lord  for  every  one  that  is  taken 
at  the  corruptions  of  the  natural  heart.  It  is  "  looking  off 
unto  Jesus  "  which  is  the  real  secret  of  soul-growth. 

III.  We  should  hold  no  Parley  with  Discovered 
Sin. — "And  Joshua,  and  all  Israel  with  him,  took  Aclian, 
the  son  of  Zerah,  and  the  silver,  and  the  mantle,  and  the 
wedge  of  gold,  and  his  sons,  and  his  daughters,  and  his 
oxen,  and  his  asses,  and  his  sheep,  and  his  tent,  and  all 
that  he  had.  And  they  brought  them  up  unto  the  Valley 
of  Achor.  And  all  Israel  stonei  him  with  stones;  and 
they  burned  them  with  fire,  and  stoned  them  with  stones." 


"THE  DOOR   OF  HOPE."  103 

Then  Jehovah  repeated  the  words  which  had  preceded  the 
capture  of  Jericho,  "And  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua,  Fear 
not !  .  .  .  see,  I  have  given  into  thy  hand  the  king  of  Ai, 
and  his  people,  and  his  city,  and  his  land." 

Then  up  the  long  defile  Joshua  marched  with  thirty 
thousand  men — the  mighty  men  of  valor.  There  was  a 
sense  in  every  breast  of  an  integrity  which  had  put  away 
all  cause  of  failure  and  defeat.  The  preparations  were 
skillfully  made ;  the  appearance  of  flight  on  the  part  of 
Israel  drew  forth  the  men  of  Ai  to  headlong  pursuit ;  and 
the  city  was  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  ambush,  which  at  the 
sign  of  Joshua's  uplifted  javelin  arose,  entered  the  city,  and 
set  it  on  fire.  And  in  that  very  place  where  Israel  had  met 
with  so  disastrous  a  defeat,  the  people  took  great  spoil, 
specially  of  cattle,  which  they  drove  down  in  triumph  to 
the  camp  at  Gilgal. 

God  never  reveals  an  evil  which  he  does  not  require  us 
to  remove.  And  if  heart  and  flesh  fail,  if  our  hand  refuses 
to  obey  our  faltering  will,  if  the  paralysis  of  evil  has  so  far 
enfeebled  us  that  we  cannot  lift  the  stone,  or  wield  the 
knife,  or  strike  the  flint-stones  for  the  fire,  then  he  will  do 
for  us  what  must  be  done,  but  which  we  cannot  do.  Some 
are  cast  in  a  mold  so  strong  that  they  can  dare  to  raise  the 
hatchet,  and  cut  off  the  arm  just  madly  bitten,  and  before 
poison  has  passed  from  it  into  the  system;  others  must 
await  the  surgeon's  knife.  But  the  one  lesson  for  all  the 
inner  Hfe  is  to  be  willing  for  God  to  do  his  work  in  us, 
through  us,  or  for  us. 

So  the  Valley  of  Achor  becomes  ''  the  Door  of  Hope." 
From  that  sterile,  mountain-guarded  valley,  Israel  marched 
to  victory ;  or,  to  use  the  highly  colored  imagery  of  Hosea, 
it  was  as  though  the  massive  slabs  opened  in  the  cliffs,  and 
the  people  passed  into  cornfields,  vineyards,  and  oHveyards, 
singing  amid  their  rich  luxuriance  as  they  sang  in  their 


104  THE  VALLEY  OF  ACHOR. 

youth  in  the  day  when  they  came  up  out  of  Egypt.  Ah  ! 
metaphor  as  true  as  fair!  for  all  our  inner  Hfe,  there  is  no 
Valley  of  Achor  where  the  work  of  execution  is  faithfully 
preformed,  in  which  there  is  not  a  door  of  hope — entrance 
into  the  garden  of  the  Lord ;  and  a  song  so  sweet,  so  joy- 
ous, so  triumphant,  that  it  would  seem  as  if  the  buoyancy  of 
youth  were  wed  with  the  experience  and  mellowness  of  age. 


XI. 
(Bbal  anli  (^m^im. 

(Joshua  viii.  30.) 

**  Therefore,  child  of  mortality,  love  thou  the  merciful  Father! 
Wish  what  the  Holy  One  wishes! — and  not  from  fear  but  affection; 
Fear  is  the  virtue  of  slaves ;  but  the  heart  that  loveth  is  willing ; 
Perfect  was  before  God, — and  perfect  is — Love  and  Love  only!" 

Longfellow. 

THIS  was  one  of  the  most  impressive  scenes  that  oc- 
curred during  the  occupation  of  Canaan.  Jericho 
and  Ai  were  heaps  of  blackened  ruins ;  their  kings  and 
people  utterly  destroyed;  their  dependent  villages  mute 
with  terror.  And  all  through  the  land  the  rumor  ran  of 
the  might  of  Israel's  God.  And  beyond  the  horizon  of  the 
visible,  into  those  realms  of  evil  spirits,  which  had  too  long 
filled  the  chosen  land  with  horrid  rite  and  obscene  orgy, 
must  tidings  have  come  that  struck  the  knell  of  their 
supremacy.  There  must  have  been  panic  there,  in  those 
dark  realms,  Hke  that  which  Milton,  in  his  sublime  "  Ode 
to  the  Nativity,"  ascribes  to  the  hour  of  the  birth  of  Christ. 

The  nations  of  Canaan  appear  to  have  been  so  panic- 
stricken  that  they  offered  no  resistance,  and  made  no  at- 
tempt at  molestation,  as  all  Israel  went  on  a  pilgrimage 
of  thirty  miles  to  perform  a  reHgious  duty,  which  had  been 
distinctly,  and  more  than  once,  commanded  by  the  great 
Lawgiver,  whose  words  constituted  their  supreme  directory. 

"  It  shall  be,"  so  the  word  stood,  "  on  the  day  when  ye 

IDS 


io6  EByfL  AND  GERIZIM. 

shall  pass  over  Jordan  unto  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  giveth  thee,  that  thou  shalt  set  thee  up  great  stones, 
and  plaster  them  with  plaster,  and  thou  shalt  write  upon 
them  all  the  words  of  this  law  "  (Deut.  xi.  26-32  ;  xxvii.  2). 
Joshua  lost  no  time  in  obeying  these  minute  and  lu-gent 
injunctions ;  and  within  two  or  three  days  after  the  fall  of 
Ai — ^perhaps  within  three  weeks  of  the  passage  of  the  Jor- 
dan— the  people  were  assembled  in  the  valley  of  Shechem, 
which  lies  from  east  to  west,  sentineled  on  the  north  by 
the  sterile  slopes  of  Ebal,  rearing  itself  gaunt  and  barren 
against  the  intense  blue  of  the  Eastern  sky ;  and  on  the 
south  by  its  twin-giant  Gerizim,  '*  a  majestic  mass  of  lime- 
stone, with  stately  head  and  precipitous  sides,  but  fruitful 
and  picturesque,  girt  with  foliage  and  beauty." 

The  valley  between  these  two  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful in  Palestine.  Jacob's  well  Hes  at  its  mouth ;  and  all 
its  luxuriant  extent  is  covered  with  the  verdant  beauty  of 
gardens,  and  orchards,  and  olive-groves,  rolling  in  waves 
of  billowy  beauty  up  to  the  walls  of  Shechem ;  whilst  the 
murmur  of  brooks  flowing  in  all  directions  fills  the  air. 
The  width  of  the  valley  is  about  a  third  of  a  mile ;  though 
the  summits  of  the  two  mountains,  in  the  lap  of  which  it 
Hes,  are  two  miles  apart.  It  is  remarkable  that  where  the 
two  mountains  face  each  other  and  touch  most  closely,  with 
a  green  valley  of  five  hundred  yards  between,  each  is  hol- 
lowed out,  and  the  limestone  stratum  is  broken  into  a  suc- 
cession of  ledges,  '*  so  as  to  present  the  appearance  of  a 
series  of  regular  benches."  Thus  a  natural  amphitheatre  is 
formed,  capable  of  containing  a  vast  audience  of  people ; 
and  the  acoustic  properties  are  so  perfect  in  that  dry  and 
rainless  air,  that  Canon  Tristram  speaks  of  two  of  his  party 
taking  up  positions  on  the  opposite  mountains,  reciting  the 
Ten  Commandments  antiphonally,  and  hearing  each  other 
perfectly. 


THE  ALTAR   ON  EBAL  107 

Thither  Joshua  led  the  people,  that,  by  a  solemn  act, 
they  might  take  possession  of  the  land  for  God. 

I.  The  Altar  on  Ebal. — Ebal  was  stem  and  barren 
in  its  aspect.  There  was  a  congruity,  therefore,  between 
its  appearance  and  the  part  it  played  in  the  solemn  pro- 
ceedings of  the  day.  For  far  up  its  slopes  gathered  the 
dense  masses  of  the  six  tribes,  who,  with  thunderous 
Amens  twelve  times  repeated,  answered  the  voices  of  the 
band  of  white-robed  Levites,  as,  standing  with  Joshua  and 
the  elders  and  officers  and  judges  in  the  green  valley,  they 
solemnly  repeated  the  curses  of  the  law. 

But  that  was  not  the  first  proceeding  in  the  holy  cere- 
monial. Before  the  people  took  up  their  assigned  places 
on  the  mountain  sides,  an  altar  was  reared  on  the  lower 
slopes  of  Ebal.  Special  directions  as  to  its  construction 
had  been  given  in  Deuteronomy  xxvii.  It  was  to  be  built 
of  unhewn  stones,  on  which  no  iron  tool  had  been  hfted ; 
probably  to  guard  against  any  attempt  to  set  forth  the 
likeness  of  God,  and  to  discountenance  the  florid  and  las- 
civious ornamentations  of  which  the  surrounding  heathen 
were  so  fond. 

There  they  offered  burnt-offerings,  and  sacrificed  peace- 
offerings.  The  Burjit-offering  was  what  was  known  as  a 
sweet-savor  offering.  The  whole  of  the  victim  was  burned. 
**  It  was  an  offering  made  by  fire,  of  a  sweet  savor  unto 
the  Lord"  (Lev.  i.).  Herein  the  Holy  Ghost  signified, 
secondarily,  our  duty  to  present  ourselves  without  reserve 
to  God ;  but  primarily  the  devotion  of  our  blessed  Lord 
to  accomplish  his  Father's  will  in  our  redemption.  He 
held  nothing  back ;  there  was  no  reserve.  He  emptied 
himself,  and  he  did  it  ungrudgingly ;  for  he  said,  *'  I  de- 
light to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God."  How  sweet  this  was  to 
the  heart  of  the  Father!     If  on  the  one  hand  there  was 


io8  EBAL  AND   GERIZIM. 

anguish  such  as  only  God  could  feel,  on  the  other  there 
was  the  gratification  of  delighted  love. 

The  Peace-offering  also  belonged  to  the  sweet-savor 
offerings,  but  it  was  not  wholly  consumed;  a  part  was 
eaten  by  the  offerers,  to  testify  that  in  it  they  had  fellow- 
ship and  communion  with  God.  In  the  sight,  therefore, 
of  Israel,  Joshua  and  other  chosen  representatives  par- 
took of  portions  of  the  sacrifices,  and  obeyed  the  divine 
injunction,  "  Thou  shalt  eat  there,  and  thou  shalt  rejoice 
before  the  Lord  thy  God."  If  any  of  the  native  Hittites, 
peering  out  from  behind  great  bowlder-stones,  were  spec- 
tators of  that  scene,  they  must  have  been  impressed  with 
the  thought  that  Jehovah  dehghted  in  the  happiness  of  his 
people,  and  that  his  service  was  as  the  scent  of  clover,  or 
as  the  feast  of  children  at  their  father's  table.  We  feed 
on  the  peace-offering  when  we  meditate  on  the  love  and 
death  of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  enter  into  some  of  the 
Father's  thoughts  of  satisfaction  at  the  work  he  did,  and 
the  spirit  in  which  he  did  it. 

As  we  pass  into  the  Land  of  Promise  we  must  see  to  it 
that  we  do  not  leave  behind  the  devout  and  loving  con- 
sideration of  that  precious  blood  by  which  we  have  been 
redeemed  and  which  is  our  life.  Our  highest  and  most 
rapturous  experiences  can  never  take  the  place  of  this. 
Constantly  we  must  remind  ourselves  and  others  that  we 
are  redeemed  sinners ;  and  that  all  our  hopes  of  salvation, 
our  fellowship  with  God,  our  motives  for  service,  are  de- 
rived from  what  our  Saviour  did  when  he  bore  our  sins  in 
his  own  body  on  the  tree. 

Since  he  died  there,  we  need  never  stand  on  the  mount 
of  cursing.  Because  he  counted  not  his  hfe  dear  to  him- 
self, those  gaunt  and  forbidding  slopes  have  become  the 
scene  of  blessed  communion  with  God.  We  sit  and  feast 
with  him,  and  from  peak  to  peak  joy  chases  the  terrors  of 


LAW  AND   GRACE.  109 

the  curse ;  and  smiles  look  out  on  us  from  the  old  rocks, 
whilst  the  torrents  tinged  with  the  light  of  the  sun  flash 
and  sing.  Because  he  shed  his  blood,  there  shall,  unlike 
the  field  of  Gilboa,  be  "  dew,  and  rain,  and  fields  of  offer- 
ings," even  on  Ebal ;  until  its  terraced  slopes  resemble 
those  of  the  opposite  mount  of  blessing.  Ah,  blessed  Lord, 
how  shall  we  thank  thee,  who  hast  redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  and  made  Ebal  so  choice  a  trysting-place 
with  God  ! 

II.  The  Law  in  Canaan. — Around  the  altar  strong 
men  reared  great  stones,  and  plastered  them  with  a  facing 
of  cement,  composed  of  lime  or  gypsum,  on  which  it  was 
easy  to  write  all  the  words  of  the  law  very  plainly  (Deut. 
xxvii.  8).  In  that  dry  air,  where  there  is  no  frost  to  split 
and  disintegrate,  such  inscriptions — graven  on  the  soft  ce- 
ment, or  written  on  its  polished  surface  when  dry  with 
ink  or  paint,  as  in  the  case  of  the  monumental  stones  of 
Egypt — would  remain  for  centuries.  As  the  time  could 
not  have  admitted  of  the  inscription  of  the  whole  law,  it 
is  probable  that  the  more  salient  points  were  alone  com- 
mitted to  the  custody  of  those  great  cromlechs,  to  perpetuate 
to  after  generations  the  conditions  of  the  tenure  on  which 
Israel  held  the  lease  of  Palestine.  They  were  a  standing 
protest  against  the  sins  which  had  bhghted  those  fertile 
valleys,  and  an  incentive  to  the  obedience  on  which  so 
much  of  the  future  hinged. 

But  when  we  turn  from  the  literal  to  the  metaphorical, 
and  ask  for  the  underlying  typical  meaning  of  this  inscrip- 
tion of  the  law  in  so  prominent  a  position  in  the  Land  of 
Promise,  we  are  at  first  startled.  What  can  it  mean?  Is 
there  a  connection  after  all  between  law  and  grace?  Are 
those  who  sit  with  Christ  in  heavenly  places  still  amenable 
to  law — "  under  the  law,"  as  the  Apostle  puts  it?   Is  it  not 


no  EBAL  AND   GERIZIM. 

true  that,  by  our  union  with  Christ  who  died,  we  have 
passed  out  of  the  sphere  in  which  we  were  married  to  our 
first  husband,  the  law,  and  have  left  it  behind  us?  Are 
we  not,  therefore,  discharged  from  the  law  of  our  former 
husband  and  married  to  another,  even  to  him  that  was 
raised  from  the  dead? 

There  is  but  one  answer  to  all  these  questions.  We 
have  died  to  the  covenant  wherein  we  were  holden.  We 
do  serve  in  newness  of  the  spirit,  and  not  in  oldness  of  the 
letter.  We  are  not  looking  to  our  obedience  to  merit  the 
favor  of  God,  or  to  win  aught  of  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel.  But  it  is  also  true  that  faith  does  not  make  the 
law  of  God  of  none  effect ;  and  still,  in  the  Land  of  Prom- 
ise, he  undertakes  to  write  it  clearly  on  the  tablets  of  our 
hearts.  In  each  one  of  us  there  is  an  Ebal  with  its  altar 
and  its  stones.  The  soul  comes  back  again  and  again  to 
those  first  principles  of  the  perfect  life ;  not  by  compulsion 
from  without,  but  by  the  impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  case  is  this.  When  we  yield  ourselves  entirely  to  the 
Spirit  of  life  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  which  passes  freely 
through  us,  as  the  blood  through  artery  and  vein,  he  makes 
us  very  sensitive  to  the  least  commandment  or  desire  of 
him  whom  he  has  taught  us  to  love ;  we  dread  to  see  the 
shadow  of  suffering  pass  over  his  face  more  than  to  feel 
the  pang  of  remorse  rend  our  hearts ;  we  find  our  heaven 
in  his  smile  of  approval,  and  the  **  Well  done  ! "  that  glis- 
tens in  his  eyes  when  we  have  done  aught  to  the  least  of 
his ;  we  are  conscious  of  the  pulse  of  a  love  which  he  has 
instilled,  and  which  supplies  us  with  the  highest  code  for 
life — and  so  insensibly  whilst  we  yield  ourselves  to  him 
we  find  ourselves  keeping  the  law  after  a  fashion  which 
was  foreign  to  us  when  it  was  a  mere  outward  observance, 
and  we  cry  with  the  psalmist,  "  Oh,  how  love  I  thy  law  I 
it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day." 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  OBEDIENCE,  m 

III.  The  Convocation. — When  these  rites  were  ful- 
filled, the  third  and  concluding  scene  of  this  extraordinary 
transaction  took  place.  In  the  center  of  the  valley  the  ark 
rested,  with  its  group  of  attendant  priests  and  Levites. 
Hard  by,  Joshua  and  the  leaders  of  the  tribes,  elders,  offi- 
cers, and  judges.  Then  up  the  slopes  of  Ebal,  finding  seats 
on  its  terraced  sides,  were  Reuben,  Gad  and  Asher,  and 
Zebulun,  Dan,  and  Naphtali ;  whilst  up  the  slopes  of  Geri- 
zim  were  the  larger  and  more  important  tribes  of  Simeon, 
and  Levi,  and  Judah,  and  Issachar,  and  Joseph,  and  Ben- 
jamin. It  was  as  though  the  voice  of  blessing  must  be 
louder  than  that  of  cursing — a  prediction  of  its  final  preva- 
lence and  triumph. 

Then  Joshua  read  aloud  "  all  the  words  of  the  law,  the 
blessings  and  cursings,  according  to  all  that  is  written  in 
the  book  of  the  law.  There  was  not  a  word  of  all  that 
Moses  commanded,  which  Joshua  read  not  before  all  the 
assembly  of  Israel,  and  the  women,  and  the  httle  ones,  and 
the  strangers  that  were  conversant  among  them."  And  as 
he  solemnly  read,  whether  the  blessing  or  the  curse,  each 
several  item  was  responded  to  by  the  Amens  that  thundered 
forth  from  thousands  of  throats,  and  rolled  in  reverberating 
echoes  through  the  hills.  Earth  has  seldom  heard  such 
shouts  as  those! 

It  is  well  worth  our  while  to  ponder  the  list  of  blessings 
appended  to  obedience  in  that  memorable  twenty-eighth 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  that  we  may  discover  their  spirit- 
ual counterparts,  and,  having  found  them,  to  claim  them. 

Let  us,  first,  be  quite  sure  that  we  are  right  with  God ; 
next,  that  we  are  on  his  plan  and  doing  his  will;  also 
thirdly,  that  we  are  set  upon  his  glory,  altogether  irrespect- 
ive of  our  own  interests ;  and  we  shall  find  ourselves  able 
to  appropriate  blessings  of  which  we  little  dreamed.  The 
Lord  will  open  his  good  treasury  in  heaven  and  make  ns 


112  EBAL  AND   GERIZIM. 

plenteous  for  good,  and  establish  us  for  an  holy  people  unto 
himself. 

Nor  can  we  better  close  our  meditation  than  by  asking 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  so  indwell  and  guide  us  that  we 
may  choose  what  he  ordains,  and  not  swerve  by  a  hair's 
breadth  to  the  right  or  left  of  the  narrow  path  of  obedience ; 
keeping  his  commandments;  obeying  his  biddings;  per- 
fectly conformed  to  his  will.  Thus  shall  Ebal  cease  to 
frown,  and  Gerizim  rain  its  blessings  upon  us.  Ours  shall 
be  the  Beatitudes  with  which  our  Master  opened  his  great 
discourse.  Ours,  the  heavenly  Kingdom,  the  divine  com- 
fort, the  earthly  inheritance,  the  fiUing  and  the  mercy,  the 
vision  of  God,  and  the  blessed  prerogative  of  sonship,  and 
finally  the  great  reward  (Matt.  v.  1-12). 


XII. 

®l)e  toiUs  of  tlje  SDml. 

(Joshua  ix.) 

"  The  perils  that  we  well  might  shun 
We  saunter  forth  to  meet ; 
The  path  into  the  road  of  sin 
We  tread  with  careless  feet. 
The  air  that  comes  instinct  with  death — 

We  bid  it  round  us  flow ; 
And  when  our  hands  should  bar  the  gate 
We  parley  with  the  foe!" 

Bright. 

THE  whole  country  was  in  arms.  Minor  differences 
were  obliterated,  a  truce  was  given  to  tribal  wars,  and 
those  who  had  been  deadly  foes  were  driven  by  the  very 
necessities  of  the  case  into  a  combination  against  the 
dreaded  invader.  Just  as  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees, 
who  were  hereditary  foes,  combined  to  destroy  Christ,  so 
did  all  the  kings — whether  Hittite  or  Amorite,  Perizzite 
or  Hivite — gather  themselves  together  to  fight  with  Israel 
and  with  Joshua,  "with  one  accord."  In  front  of  that 
common  danger  all  minor  contentions  held  their  peace. 

Tidings  of  this  formidable  coalition  found  their  way  into 
the  camp  of  Gilgal,  whither  leader  and  people  had  re- 
cently returned  from  their  pilgrimage  to  Shechem.  Prob- 
ably Joshua  heard  the  tidings  without  great  dismay ;  but 
to  the  princes  it  was  welcome  news  to  learn  almost  simul- 
taneously that  there  was  the  possibility  of  forming  a  league 

113 


114  THE  IVILES  OF  THE  DEVIL 

with  those  who  were  likely  to  stand  by  them  at  that  solemn 
juncture.  This  league,  however,  was  to  cost  them  as  much 
anxiety,  if  not  more,  as  the  sin  of  Achan. 

Whenever  we  are  threatened  with  unprecedented  diffi- 
culty, we  may  expect  to  encounter  just  such  a  temptation 
as  that  which  the  Gibeonites  presented  to  Israel. 

I.  "They  did  work  Wilily." — One  day  a  strange 
spectacle  presented  itself  at  the  gates  of  the  camp.  A 
group  of  strangers  announced  themselves,  who  seemed  to 
have  come  from  a  far  country.  In  every  article  of  dress, 
as  well  as  in  the  trappings  of  their  asses,  there  were  the 
signs  of  long  journeys.  Their  shoes  were  clouted ;  their 
garments  faded ;  their  sacks  in  holes ;  their  wine-skins 
patched ;  and  when  they  turned  out  the  remnants  of  their 
bread,  the  mold  suggested  the  days  that  had  passed  since 
it  left  the  oven.  All  the  camp  gathered  to  see  them  enter ; 
and  as  they  passed  through  the  lines  of  eager  spectators, 
from  one  to  another  the  word  passed,  "  Who  are  they  ? 
whence  came  they?  Wherever  they  come  from,  they  are 
evidently  foreigners  in  this  country."  Compassion  would 
be  freely  expended  on  them  for  the  weary  fatigue  of  their 
travel ;  and  no  one  suspected  for  a  moment  that  beneath 
the  clever  disguise  was  concealed  a  band  of  Hivites.  But 
so  it  was.  For  the  first  time,  within  the  precincts  of  the 
camp  which  was  holy  unto  the  Lord,  there  stood  a  com- 
pany of  those  inhabitants  of  Canaan  which  Israel  had  been 
expressly  commissioned  to  destroy. 

Had  it  not  been  for  their  disguise  they  would  not  have 
been  permitted  to  come  within  the  circle  of  the  tents.  A 
cry  of  horror  would  have  passed  from  lip  to  Hp,  drowning 
any  attempt  of  theirs  to  speak;  but  their  story  was  so 
reasonable,  their  references  to  Jehovah  so  reverential,  their 


THE  CRAFTY  G/BEONITES.  115 

appearance  so  in  keeping  with  the  account  they  gave  of 
themselves,  that  they  threw  Joshua,  princes,  and  people 
completely  off  their  guard. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  we  are  tempted  still — more  by  the 
wiles  of  Satan  than  by  his  open  assaults;  more  by  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin  than  by  its  declared  war.  And  it  is 
little  matter  for  wonder  that  those  who  succeed  at  Jericho 
and  Ai  fall  into  the  nets  woven  and  laid  down  by  the  wiles 
of  Gibeon.  Better  to  meet  Caiaphas  than  Judas.  A  black 
devil  is  less  to  be  dreaded  than  a  white  one. 

Take  up  the  chronicles  of  the  early  Church.  With  no 
prestige,  or  wealth,  or  human  learning  to  help  her,  she 
swept  forward  on  her  beneficent  mission,  during  the  first 
centuries  of  her  existence,  freeing  the  slave,  lifting  woman 
from  her  degradation,  smiting  down  gigantic  systems  of 
idolatry  and  philosophy,  and  winning  myriads  of  trophies 
for  Jesus  Christ.  There  was  no  reason  to  doubt  that  she 
would  speedily  accomplish  the  will  of  her  divine  Founder 
in  encompassing  the  world  with  the  tidings  of  redemption, 
and  proclaiming  his  Gospel  to  every  creature.  All  through 
these  days  each  step  was  taken  at  a  great  cost  of  agony 
and  blood.  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves  in  array, 
and  the  rulers  were  gathered  together  against  the  Lord, 
and  against  his  Christ.  Ten  awful  persecutions  rolled  up 
against  the  Ark,  threatening  to  engulf  it  in  their  blood-red 
waters.  The  great  dragon  persecuted  the  woman;  and 
the  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  after  her  water  as  a  river, 
that  he  might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away  by  the  stream. 

But  the  effect  of  all  this  was  most  salutary.  There  was 
no  temptation  to  hypocrites  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  faith- 
ful ;  and  these  counted  not  their  hves  dear  unto  themselves, 
if  only  by  word  and  life  they  might  commend  the  Gospel 
of  their  Lord,     Those  were  the  days  when  the  saints 


Ii6  THE  fVILES  OF  THE  DEVIL 

walked  the  earth  in  white,  and  God  was  not  ashamed  to 
be  called  their  God,  and  men  were  attracted  by  the  sheen 
of  a  celestial  beauty. 

Then,  since  the  adversary  could  not  prevail  by  force,  he 
had  resort  to  wile.  Constantine  was  his  agent,  through 
whom  an  alliance  was  effected  between  the  new  young 
faith  and  the  expiring  systems  of  paganism.  The  great 
fasts  of  the  Christian  faith  were  commemorated  on  the 
days  consecrated  from  time  immemorial  to  heathen  festi- 
vals ;  and  after  a  while  in  the  garments  and  with  the  rites 
by  which  those  festivals  had  been  signahzed.  A  league  was 
formed  between  the  Church  and  the  world ;  between  truth 
and  falsehood  ;  between  the  new  and  the  old :  and  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ  struck  hands  in  solemn  covenant 
with  the  old  shoes  and  clouted,  the  old  garments,  the 
moldy  provision  of  Babylonish  idolatry. 

From  that  moment  a  change  passed  over  the  Church  of 
Christ.  What  she  gained  in  prestige  of  worldly  power  she 
lost  in  character  and  spiritual  strength.  From  that  moment 
the  course  of  the  professing  Church  has  been  always  down- 
ward ;  and  to-day  it  is  her  weakness  and  shame  that  she 
has  so  unaccountable  a  liking  for  the  old  reHcs  of  a  de- 
funct paganism. 

Many  a  soul  that  has  withstood  the  attacks  of  the  more 
pronounced  forms  of  temptation  has  succumbed  before  the 
treacherous  arts  of  the  flatterer.  Young  Christians  have 
much  to  fear  from  those  who  introduce  themselves  as  being 
also  rehgious,  and  as  enthusiastic  as  they,  and  who  proceed 
to  urge  them  "not  to  overdo  it."  We  have  all  to  beware 
of  those  insinuating  themselves  into  our  affections,  our 
counsels,  our  homes,  or  our  businesses;  who  assume  an 
interest  in  religion  which  they  do  not  feel ;  who  talk  glibly 
and  falsely  of  the  fame  of  God ;  and  who  offer  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  further  and  help  our  interests  whilst  they 


''THEY  ASKED  NOT  COUNSEL/'  117 

are  plotting  our  ruin.  There  are  plenty  of  Gibeonites  about. 
"  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit ;  but  prove  the  spirits, 
whether  they  are  of  God ;  because  many  false  prophets  are 
gone  out  into  the  world."  "  Bear  with  me ;  I  fear,  lest  by 
any  means,  as  the  serpent  beguiled  Eve  in  his  craftiness, 
your  minds  should  be  corrupted  from  the  simpHcity  and 
the  purity  that  is  toward  Christ." 

II.  "They  Asked  not  Counsel  of  the  Lord." — 
The  leaders  of  Israel  seem  at  first  to  have  been  a  little 
suspicious  of  their  visitors.  "  And  the  men  of  Israel  said 
unto  the  Hivites,  Peradventure  ye  dwell  among  us,  and 
how  shall  we  make  a  covenant  with  you  ?  "  But  their  sus- 
picions were  allayed  as  they  hstened  to  their  story,  and 
saw  the  apparent  evidences  of  their  long  journey.  Here 
surely  was  an  opportunity  of  proving  their  sagacity.  They 
had  not  been  allowed  as  yet  to  show  their  bravery  and 
might,  but  they  could  at  least  now  give  proof  of  their 
superior  insight!  This  was  altogether  too  obvious  a  mat- 
ter to  need  to  be  referred  to  Phinehas  with  his  Urim  and 
Thummim !  And  so  they  took  of  their  provisions,  moldy 
as  they  were,  in  token  of  their  willingness  to  count  them 
allies  and  friends ;  indeed,  the  princes  of  the  congregation 
sware  unto  them.  But  they  "  asked  not  counsel  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord." 

What  an  ominous  sound  there  is  in  those  words!  They 
portend  disaster — and  it  befell.  Up  to  this  moment  the 
initiative  had  always  been  taken  by  the  Lord.  Now  for 
the  first  time  it  is  taken  by  Joshua  and  the  people.  In  all 
the  previous  chapters  the  words  run  thus :  "  And  the  Lord 
said  unto  Joshua ;  "  but  there  is  no  such  phrase  in  this, 
Israel  through  her  chosen  leaders  acted  for  herself,  and 
easily  fell  into  the  trap.  If  only  they  had  inquired  of  the 
Lord,  the  dimming  Hght  in  the  sacred  stone  would  have 


Ii8  THE  IVILES  OF  THE  DEVIL 

betrayed  the  fatal  secret  and  arrested  the  formation  of  the 

league. 

Let  us  lay  the  moral  to  our  heart.  Earth's  somber  tints 
and  cross-lights  are  very  perplexing ;  and  it  is  often  ex- 
tremely hard  to  detect  the  truth.  The  foolish  virgins  are 
so  much  like  the  wise ;  the  tares  so  resemble  the  wheat ;  the 
hireling  imitates  so  precisely  the  Shepherd's  voice;  the 
devil's  mimicry  of  an  angel  of  light  is  so  exact ;  By-path 
Meadow  is  parted  from  the  King's  Highway  by  so  narrow 
a  boundary.  We  urgently  need,  as  the  Apostle  prayed 
for  his  Philippian  converts,  that  we  may  have  not  only  all 
knowledge,  but  all  discernment,  so  that  we  may  prove  the 
things  that  differ  (Phil.  i.  lo,  r.v.,  margin). 

In  one  place  this  power  to  discriminate  is  said  to  result 
from  use  (Heb.  v.  14) ;  whilst  in  the  passage  aheady  quoted 
it  is  attributed  to  an  abounding  love.  But  following  the 
suggestion  of  the  narrative  before  us,  we  may  say  that  it 
will  follow  naturally  on  the  careful  cultivation  of  the  habit 
of  asking  counsel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord. 

Never  trust  your  own  judgment.  When  your  common 
sense  is  most  sure  of  the  rightness  of  a  certain  course  of 
action,  it  will  be  best  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure  by 
lifting  up  your  soul  to  God,  that  it  may  dim  with  his  No, 
or  glisten  with  his  Yes.  When  voices  within  or  without 
would  hasten  you  to  decide  on  the  strength  of  your  own 
conclusions,  then  be  careful  to  refer  the  whole  matter  from 
the  lower  court  of  your  own  judgment  to  the  supreme  tri- 
bunal of  God's.  If  there  is  any  doubt  or  hesitation  left  after 
such  reference,  be  sure  that  as  yet  the  time  has  not  come 
for  you  to  understand  all  God's  will.  Under  such  circum- 
stances— wait.  Throw  the  responsibility  of  the  pause,  and 
all  it  may  involve,  on  God ;  and  dare  still  to  wait.  As  a 
traveler  over  the  hills,  when  the  mist  has  come  down, 
elects  to  stand  or  lie  where  it  overtakes  him,  rather  than 


iVAITING  UPON  GOD.  119 

wander  on,  perhaps  to  the  brink  of  a  precipice — so  wait. 
If  you  trust  God  absolutely,  it  is  for  him  to  give  you  clear 
directions  as  to  what  you  should  do.  And  when  the  time 
for  action  arrives,  he  will  have  given  you  such  unmistak- 
able indications  of  his  will  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  mis- 
take them  or  err  therein.  **  None  of  them  that  wait  on 
him  shall  be  ashamed." 

Life  is  full  of  difficulties.  The  pointed  spear  awaits  the 
unwary  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  the  top  of  which  is  cov- 
ered by  a  slight  film  of  earth.  The  snare  of  the  fowler, 
the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness,  the  net  privily  laid, 
the  decoy-bird,  the  devil  in  the  wily  serpent  form — of  these 
we  need  to  beware.  But  prayer  is  like  the  spear  of  Ithu- 
riel ;  and  before  its  touch  evil  will  be  compelled  to  show 
itself  in  its  native  deformity,  so  that  we  may  be  thrown  in- 
stantly upon  the  watch. 

Before  entering  into  any  alliance — taking  a  partner  in 
life,  going  into  a  business  with  another,  yielding  assent  to 
any  proposition  which  involves  confederation  with  others — 
be  sure  to  ask  counsel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord.  He  will 
assuredly  answer  by  an  irresistible  impulse — by  the  voice 
of  a  friend ;  by  a  circumstance  strange  and  unexpected ; 
by  a  passage  of  Scripture.  He  will  choose  his  own  mes- 
senger ;  but  he  will  send  a  message. 

III.  "Hewers  of  Wood  and  Drawers  of  Water." 
— There  are  some  oaths  better  in  the  breach  than  the  ob- 
servance, as  would  have  been  the  case  with  Herod's.  And 
if  there  had  been  certain  peril  that  these  Hivites  would 
corrupt  Israel,  it  had  been  better  for  them,  notwithstanding 
the  oath  of  the  princes,  to  have  been  cut  off  like  the  rest 
of  the  Canaanites.  But  all  danger  of  this  peril  accruing 
was  carefully  guarded  against  by  their  reduction  to  servi- 
tude.    "  Hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  ^  water,  for  the 


I20  THE  IVILES  OF  THE  DEVIL 

congregation  and  for  the  altar  of  Jehovah."  This  position 
they  retained;  and  in  after  years  heavy  disasters  befell 
Israel,  because  Saul,  in  his  mad  zeal,  broke  the  solemn 
league  and  covenant  into  which  Joshua  and  the  princes 
had  entered  with  them  (2  Sam.  xxi.  2). 

This  is  a  beautiful  and  comforting  example  of  the  way 
in  which  God  overrules  our  mistakes,  and  brings  blessing 
out  of  our  sins ;  as  the  chemist  obtains  his  loveliest  dyes 
from  the  refuse  of  gas  retorts.  Inadvertently,  and  without 
due  consideration,  some  reader  may  have  entered  into 
alliance  with  a  Gibeonite — whether  in  marriage,  in  busi- 
ness, or  in  some  other  sphere.  Are  they  therefore  to  aban- 
don their  high  privilege,  and  forsake  their  lofty  ministry 
to  the  world?  Must  they  cease  to  be  God's  portion,  and 
the  priests  of  men?  Not  necessarily.  Let  them  turn  to 
God  in  repentance  and  confession,  and  he  will  teach  them 
how  these  very  hindrances  may  become  great  means  of 
help  ;  so  that  they  shall  hew  the  wood  for  the  burnt-offering, 
draw  the  water  for  the  libations,  and  promote  the  prosper- 
ity and  well-being  of  the  soul.  *'  Out  of  the  eater  shall 
come  forth  meat,  and  out  of  the  strong  shall  come  forth 
sweetness." 

"  If  any  brother  hath  an  unbelieving  wife,  and  she  is 
content  to  dwell  with  him,  let  him  not  leave  her.  And  the 
woman  which  hath  an  unbelieving  husband,  and  he  is 
content  to  dwell  with  her,  let  her  not  leave  her  husband. 
For  the  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  in  the  wife,  and 
the  unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  in  the  brother.  How 
knowest  thou,  O  wife,  whether  thou  shalt  save  thy  hus- 
band? or  how  knowest  thou,  O  husband,  whether  thou 
shalt  save  thy  wife?     But  God  hath  called  us  in  peace." 

It  is  very  sweet  to  think  of  the  grace  of  God  which  for- 
gives our  sins,  as  the  preliminary  condition  to  transforming 
the  results  of  those  sins  to  blessing.     How  often,  in  the 


THE  MATCHLESS   GRACE  OF  GOD,  121 

lives  of  God's  saints,  the  ancient  prediction  has  been  real- 
ized, that  instead  of  the  thorn  should  come  up  the  fir  tree, 
and  instead  of  the  briar  the  myrtle  tree,  that  these  may  be 
to  the  Lord  for  a  name  and  an  everlasting  sign. 

It  is  true  that  the  natural  consequences  of  our  sin  may 
have  to  run  their  course.  The  hand  of  the  reclaimed 
drunkard  will  still  tremble.  The  constitution  of  the  prodi- 
gal will  never  be  able  to  throw  off  the  effects  of  the  fever 
contracted  from  the  swine-troughs.  The  Gibeonite  will 
always,  in  this  world  at  least,  be  tied  to  you.  But  these 
things  shall  not  rule,  but  serve;  shall  not  impede,  but 
promote.  They  shall  hew  the  wood  and  draw  the  water 
for  the  inner  shrine  of  character,  and  for  the  promotion  of 
the  loftiest  standard  of  Christian  attainment 


XIII. 
21  Mcmoxabk  ^Dag. 

(Joshua  x.  14.) 

*'  This  day  shall  shine, 
For  evermore 
To  thee  a  star  divine 
On  Time's  dark  shore." 
A.  Proctor. 

"'T^HERE  was  no  day  like  that."     It  stood  alone  in 
X    the  history  of  the  conquest,  and  of  Joshua.     Let 
us  notice — 

I.  The  Confederacy  which  was  Gathered  against 
Israel. — Israel  had  previously  dealt  with  separate  cities, 
Jericho  and  Ai ;  but  now  five  kings  of  the  Amorites  joined 
together,  namely,  the  kings  of  Jerusalem,  Hebron,  Jarmuth, 
Lachish,  and  Eglon. 

The  traitor  city  of  Gibeon  was  the  object  of  the  attack 
of  the  combined  forces ;  partly  because  its  defection  had 
aroused  the  fiercest  animosity  of  its  former  allies,  and  partly 
that  by  its  occupation  they  might  be  able  to  interpose  one 
further  barrier  to  the  invasion  of  the  Israelites.  This  was 
more  especially  the  purpose  of  Adonizedek,  whose  name, 
"  lord  of  righteousness,"  recalls  the  ancient  glory  of  Melchis- 
edec,  the  friend  of  Abram.  The  royal  city  of  Gibeon  lay 
only  six  miles  to  the  north  of  Jerusalem. 

All  suddenly,  the  men  of  Gibeon  found  themselves  sur- 
122 


A  DAY  OF  VIGOR.  123 

rounded  by  a  vast  host  of  infuriated  warriors,  who,  not 
daring  to  measure  themselves  against  Joshua,  because  of 
the  awe  which  his  exploits  had  inspired,  were  all  the  more 
eager  to  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  those  who  had  dared 
to  make  a  league  with  him.  Relying  upon  Joshua's  fidelity 
to  the  covenant  so  recently  formed,  a  message  was  sent  in 
breathless  haste,  summoning  him  to  their  help. 

II.  Joshua's  Heroic  Faith. — There  had  been  great 
days  in  his  hfe  before — the  day  of  the  Passover,  when  he 
marched  in  the  van  of  his  tribe ;  the  day  of  the  fight  with 
Amalek  when,  beneath  the  uplifted  hands  of  Moses,  he 
drove  the  tribes  of  the  desert  before  him ;  the  day  when 
first  he  had  stood  with  his  master  amid  the  burning  splen- 
dor of  the  vision  of  God ;  the  day  when  he  had  returned 
with  Caleb  from  espying  the  land,  and  had  heard  himself 
singled  out  to  survive  his  nation  and  to  enter  the  Land  of 
Promise.  There  had  also  been  some  wonderful  days  lately, 
when  he  crossed  the  Jordan,  saw  the  Angel,  and  beheld  the 
walls  of  Jericho  fall  flat ;  but  there  had  never  been  a  day 
in  his  Hfe  quite  hke  this. 

It  was  a  day  of  vigor.  As  soon  as  he  received  the 
message,  he  saw  the  importance  of  at  once  vindicating  the 
trust  reposed  in  him.  Ere  the  sun  went  down,  orders  had 
passed  through  the  camp  that  the  men  of  war  should  be 
ready  for  a  midnight  march ;  and  at  dead  of  night  he  climbed 
the  pass  from  Gilgal  to  Gibeon — fifteen  difficult  miles — and 
came  upon  the  sleeping  host  suddenly  before  they  had  had 
time  to  prepare  themselves  for  fight.  Inertness  and  indo- 
lence ill  become  those  who  are  intrusted  with  great  con- 
cerns. The  stirring  of  God's  Spirit  in  man  makes  the  pulse 
throb  quickly ;  purposes  form  themselves  in  the  will,  and 
all  the  nature  is  braced,  and  knit,  to  subserve  the  heroic 
souL 


124  A  MEMORABLE  DAY. 

It  was  a  day  of  Fellowship.  Soon  after  the  first  message 
had  come,  with  surely  a  certain  amount  of  starthng  sur- 
prise, God  hath  spoken  to  him  and  said,  "  Fear  them  not, 
for  I  have  dehvered  them  into  thy  hands ;  there  shall  not 
a  man  of  them  stand  before  thee."  It  was  in  the  strength 
of  that  promise,  and  under  the  pressure  of  such  stirring  cir- 
cumstances, that  he  spake  to  God  as  man  had  never  spoken 
before. 

There  must  have  been  hard  fighting  all  the  morning.  It 
was  dawn  when  the  battle  began,  and  it  would  have  been 
toward  afternoon  when  the  kings  gave  the  signal  for  re- 
treat; and  the  Canaanites,  unable  longer  to  sustain  the 
successive  onsets  of  Israel,  charging  to  the  battle-cry  of 
"Jehovah,  mighty  in  battle,"  broke  into  flight  like  a  flock 
of  panic-stricken  sheep.  Ten  miles  they  fled,  climbing 
a  precipitous  ascent  to  the  high  ridge  of  Beth-horon  the 
Upper.  From  that  point  the  road  drops,  broken  and 
rugged,  seven  hundred  feet  in  two  miles.  The  rock  is  cut 
into  steps.  Down  this  breakneck  steep  the  fugitives  fled, 
to  reach,  if  only  they  might,  their  fastnesses  and  citadels, 
which  lay  in  the  valley  below,  and  longing  for  night  to  put 
a  pause  upon  the  anguish  of  the  pursuit.  It  was  at  this 
point  that  the  storm,  of  which  we  will  speak  presently, 
burst  on  them  with  irresistible  fury,  as  if  the  whole  artillery 
of  heaven  had  suddenly  opened  fire,  and  when  Joshua 
reached  the  head  of  the  ravine,  before  him  the  descent  was 
blocked  with  the  masses  of  the  routed  armies ;  beneath  him 
the  valley  was  thick  with  cloud,  which  was  venting  its  con- 
tents on  his  foes ;  while  upward  to  him  there  surged  the 
mingled  voice  of  the  cry  of  the  vanquished,  the  shout  of 
the  pursuer,  and  the  chorus  of  the  hailstones.  Behind 
him,  over  the  hills  of  Gibeon,  the  sun  was  westering.  It 
wanted  but  an  hour  or  two,  and  its  sudden  disappearance 
would  bring   on  the   rapid  Eastern   twilight,  whilst  the 


A  DAY  OF   TRIUMPH.  125 

moon's  pale  face  appearing  over  the  purple  waters  of  the 
great  sea  was  waiting  to  lead  on  the  night. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Joshua  dared  to 
ask  an  unprecedented  gift  of  God — that  the  day  might  be 
prolonged.  **  Why  should  not  the  sun,  which  is  thy  creat- 
ure, but  worshiped  too  long  in  this  land  in  thy  stead,  now 
subserve  thy  purpose  in  the  destruction  of  these  who  have 
given  it  what  was  thy  due?  and  why  should  not  yonder 
moon,  which  has  so  often  looked  down  upon  these  licen- 
tious orgies  of  the  Amorite,  now  see  their  impurity  washed 
out  by  blood?  They  are  thine,  Jehovah ;  they  will  per- 
form thy  bidding ;  hearken  to  my  voice  and  let  them  stay." 

There  are  high  days  in  human  lives  when  thought  and 
purpose,  which  had  been  quietly  gathering  strength,  like 
waters  swelling  against  a  barrier,  suddenly  leap  from  their 
leash,  and  vent  themselves  in  acts  or  words  or  prayers. 
We  are  not,  then,  drunk  with  wine :  but  we  are  flushed,  as 
to  our  spirits,  with  the  exhilaration  and  sense  of  power 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  can  give;  or,  to  put  it  in 
another  form,  we  catch  fire.  There  is  too  little  of  this 
capacity  of  rising  into  the  loftiest  experience  of  that  spirit- 
life  which  is  within  the  reach  of  us  all,  through  Hving  fel- 
lowship with  God:  but  whenever  we  realize  and  use  it, 
it  is  as  when  the  feeble,  smoldering  wick  is  plunged  into 
oxygen  gas ;  or  as  when  a  flower  that  had  struggled  against 
the  frost  is  placed  in  the  tropical  atmosphere  of  the  hot- 
house. In  such  hours  we  realize  what  Jesus  meant  when 
he  said,  "  Whosoever  shall  say  unto  this  mountain.  Be  thou 
taken  up  and  cast  into  the  sea ;  and  shall  not  doubt  in 
his  heart,  but  shall  believe  that  what  he  saith  cometh  to 
pass;  he  shall  have  it." 

If  was  a  day  of  Triumphant  Onlook.  Discomfited, 
weary,  vanquished,  the  kings  sheltered  in  the  cave  of  Mak- 
kedah ;  but  Joshua  did  not  stay  to  dispatch  them ;  he  was 


126  A  MEMORABLE  DAY, 

too  eager  to  finish  what  he  had  commenced,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  Canaanites  re-entering  their  cities.  So  he  took 
measures  for  keeping  them  imprisoned  in  the  cave  till  his 
return.  Presently,  flushed  with  victory,  and  with  (as 
Josephus  tells  us)  the  loss  of  hardly  a  single  hfe,  he  came 
again.  The  kings  were  summoned  from  their  hiding-place ; 
and  as  they  crouched  abjectly  at  the  feet  of  their  conquer- 
ors, Joshua  called  for  all  the  men  of  Israel,  and  said  unto 
the  chiefs  of  the  men  of  war,  "  Come  near,  put  your  feet 
upon  the  necks  of  these  kings."  And  whilst  they  stood,  in 
that  attitude  of  unquestioned  victory,  there  broke  on  the 
exalted  spirit-kindled  imagination  of  the  warrior-chieftain 
the  sure  prevision  of  the  ultimate  issue  of  the  conflict  in 
which  they  were  engaged.  He  already  saw  the  day  when 
every  knee  should  bow  before  Jehovah's  might;  when 
every  king  should  be  prostrate  before  Israel's  arm;  and 
when  the  whole  land  should  be  subdued.  So  all  through 
the  years  that  followed,  he  would  come  back  again  and 
again  in  thought  to  that  moment  when  he  stood  on  a  peak 
of  the  mountain  of  vision,  and  said,  ''  Fear  not,  nor  be  dis- 
mayed !  be  strong  and  of  good  courage ;  for  thus  shall 
Jehovah  do  to  all  your  enemies  against  whom  ye  fight." 

III.  The  Extraordinary  Interposition  of  Jehovah. 
— The  storm  that  broke  in  that  late  afternoon  over  the 
rugged  descent  to  Beth-horon  was  no  common  one.  Ori- 
ental hailstones  are  of  great  size :  it  is  said  that  sometimes 
lumps  of  ice,  of  a  pound  or  more  in  weight,  will  fall ;  and 
these  would  naturally  kill  any  on  whom  they  fell.  But  the 
remarkable  thing  in  this  case  was  that  the  storm  broke  in 
a  moment  when  its  fury  could  be  spent  on  the  Amorites 
without  inflicting  injury  upon  Israel.  "  It  came  to  pass  as 
they  fled  from  before  Israel,  while  they  were  in  the  going 
down  of  Beth-horon,  that  the  Lord  cast  down  great  stones 


"THE  SUN  STOOD  STILL"  127 

from  heaven  upon  them  unto  Azekah,  and  they  died ;  they 
were  more  that  died  with  the  hailstones  than  they  whom 
the  children  of  Israel  slew  with  the  sword." 

But  the  stupendous  miracle  of  the  day  consisted  in  the 
arrest  of  dayhght.  It  is  obvious  that  verses  12-15  ^-re  a 
quotation  from  the  poetical  book  of  Jasher.  This  is  clear, 
because  verse  1 5  is  duplicate  with  verse  43 ;  and  the  style 
is  altogether  different  from  the  majestic  roll  of  the  histo- 
rian's prose.  But  there  is  no  reason  to  beheve,  with  some, 
that  these  verses  give  us  only  a  metaphorical  account  of  the 
fight,  and  of  the  thoroughness  of  the  victory ;  as  though 
the  poet  would  say  that  in  that  one  day  Israel  did  the  work 
of  two.  Beneath  the  veil  of  poetry,  so  gravely  interpo- 
lated by  the  historian,  there  must  be  a  reference  to  a  mar- 
velous and  miraculous  episode. 

We  place  no  Hmit  to  the  divine  power.  He  who  made 
all  things  is  the  Monarch  of  all.  It  is  indeed  easy  for  him 
to  impose  his  will  on  nature,  man,  or  human  will.  The 
miracle  of  the  resurrection  is  so  stupendous  in  the  raising 
of  our  human  nature,  incorporate  with  the  divine,  to  take 
its  place  in  the  heart  of  the  forces  of  the  spirit-world,  that 
we  need  not  hesitate  to  accept  any  well-accredited  marvel. 
Nor  should  we  scruple  to  beheve  that  God  could  make  the 
clock  of  the  universe  stop,  if  it  were  necessary  that  it  should 
do  so. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  beheve  that  he  did  this.  No 
doubt  here,  as  elsewhere.  Scripture  uses  the  language  of 
ordinary  human  life.  By  some  process,  the  laws  of  which 
are  at  present  unknown  to  us,  but  of  which  we  get  glimpses, 
in  refraction,  in  the  after-glow  of  sunset,  in  the  fantastic 
appearances  familiar  to  travelers  in  high  latitudes  and 
amongst  the  loftiest  mountains — God  was  able  to  prolong 
the  daylight  until  Israel  had  made  an  end  of  slaying  their 
foes,  with  a  very  great  slaughter,  so  that  only  a  decimated 


128  A  MEMORABLE  DAY. 

remnant  entered  into  the  fenced  cities.  The  how  is  not 
material  to  our  present  purpose.  It  is  enough  to  express 
our  belief  in  the  fact  itself.  Somehow,  the  duration  of 
that  day's  hght  was  lengthened  out  until  the  people  had 
avenged  themselves  of  their  enemies ;  "  And  there  was  no 
day  like  that  before  it  or  after  it,  that  the  Lord  hearkened 
unto  the  voice  of  a  man ;  for  the  Lord  fought  for  Israel." 

Oiu:  present  purpose  does  not  require  us  to  follow  the 
steps  of  the  conquerors  as  they  passed  from  city  to  city. 
Some  of  them,  like  Lachish,  seem  to  have  made  an  obsti- 
nate resistance ;  others,  like  Hebron,  must  have  been  re- 
garded with  intense  interest,  because  of  their  connection 
with  the  lives  and  wanderings  of  the  patriarchs ;  others, 
again,  witnessed  to  a  high  state  of  civiHzation,  as  Debir, 
the  city  of  books  and  learning.  All  were  treated  with  the 
same  unsparing  severity.  The  kings  were  slain,  their 
bodies  gibbeted  till  the  evening ;  and  all  the  souls  smitten, 
so  that  none  were  left  remaining,  an  utter  destruction  of 
all  and  every  one  by  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

We  must  remember  that  the  Israelites  were  the  execu- 
tioners of  divine  justice,  commissioned  to  give  effect  to  the 
sentence  which  the  foul  impurities  of  Canaan  called  for. 
There  is  a  judgment-seat  for  nations  as  well  as  for  individ- 
uals. Within  the  Hmits  of  the  ages  as  they  pass,  and  on 
the  surface  of  this  earth,  that  throne  is  erected  and  that 
judgment  is  proceeding.  And  the  almighty  Judge  sees  to 
it  that  his  sentences  are  carried  out.  He  has  many  agents 
— the  Persian  legions  to  execute  his  sentence  on  Babylon ; 
the  Vandals  on  Rome ;  the  Russian  Cossacks  on  Napo- 
leon ;  as  the  Israelites  on  the  Amorites,  whose  iniquity  was 
now  full,  and  threatened  to  infect  the  world. 

IV.  The  Lesson  for  our  own  Life. — There  are  days 
so  extraordinary  for  the  combination  of  difficult  circum- 


FELLOIVSHIP   IVITH  GOD.  129 

stances,  human  opposition,  and  spiritual  conflict  that  they 
stand  out  in  unique  terror  from  the  rest  of  our  lives. 
Looking  back  on  them,  we  may  almost  adopt  the  language 
of  the  sacred  writer,  "  There  was  no  day  like  that  before  it 
or  after  it." 

But  these  days  do  not  come,  if  we  are  living  in  fellow- 
ship with  God,  intent  on  doing  his  will,  without  there  com- 
ing also  his  sweet  "  Fear  them  not ;  for  I  have  delivered 
them  into  thine  hands! "  Our  only  anxiety  should  be  that 
nothing  divert  us  from  his  path,  or  intercept  the  commu- 
nication of  his  grace.  Like  a  wise  commander,  we  must 
keep  open  the  passage  back  to  our  base  of  operations, 
which  is  God.  Careful  about  that,  we  need  have  no  anx- 
ous  care  beside.  The  greatness  of  our  difficulties  is  per- 
mitted to  elicit  the  greatness  of  his  grace.  We  may  even 
be  glad  to  enter  the  storm,  that  we  may  make  fresh  discov- 
eries of  the  all-sufficiency  of  Jesus,  who  is  never  so  near  as 
in  these  days  of  special  trial. 

Moreover,  these  days  may  always  be  full  of  the  realized 
presence  of  God.  All  through  the  conflict,  Joshua's  heart 
was  in  perpetual  fellowship  with  the  mighty  Captain  of  the 
Lord's  host,  who  rode  beside  him  all  the  day.  So  amid 
all  our  conflicts,  our  hearts  and  minds  should  thither  ascend, 
and  there  dwell  where  Christ  is  seated,  drawing  from  him 
grace  upon  grace,  as  we  need ;  like  the  diver  on  the  ocean- 
floor,  who  inhales  the  fresh  breeze  of  the  upper  air.  At 
these  times  it  is  very  necessary  not  merely  to  ask  God  to 
help  us,  because  the  word  help  may  mean  that  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  reliance  on  self;  and  whatever  there  is  of 
ourselves  is  almost  certain  to  give  way  in  the  strain  of 
battle.  The  divine  part  of  our  deliverance  will  be  nullified 
by  the  alloy  of  our  own  energy,  strength,  or  resolution. 
Let  us  substitute  the  word  keep  for  the  word  help.  Let  us 
put  the  whole  matter  into  the  hands  of  God ;  asking  him 


I30  A  MEMORABLE  DAY. 

to  go  before  us,  to  fight  for  us,  to  deliver  us,  as  he  did  for 
his  people  on  this  eventful  day. 

In  all  such  days  we  may  have  light  which  cannot  be 
accounted  for  on  any  natural  hypothesis.  Our  sun  shall 
not  go  down,  neither  shall  our  moon  withdraw  itself ;  be- 
cause the  Lord  shall  be  to  us  an  everlasting  light.  Or  in 
words  spoken  long  after,  which  siurely  contain  an  allusion 
to  this  marvelous  day  of  Gibeon,  "  It  shall  be  one  day 
which  is  known  unto  the  Lord,  not  day  and  not  night ; 
but  it  shaU  come  to  pass  that  at  evening  time  there  shall 
be  Hght "  (Zech.  xiv.  7,  r.v.). 

Only  let  us  seek  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  we 
may  be  kept  in  such  an  attitude  of  soul  that  we  shall  miss 
nothing  of  God's  gracious  and  timely  help.  Trusting  it, 
reckoning  on  it,  appropriating  it.  Abiding  in  him,  that  we 
may  ask  with  the  certainty  that  God  is  hearkening  unto  the 
voice  of  man,  and  that  he  is  fighting  for  us. 


XIV. 
Claiming  bictor^, 

(Joshua  xi.) 

**  Up! — God  has  formed  thee  with  a  wiser  view, 
Not  to  be  led  in  chains,  but  to  subdue! 
Calls  thee  to  cope  with  enemies ;  and  first 
Points  out  a  conflict  with  thyself — the  worst ! " 

COWPER. 

THE  Merom  Waters,  which  must  have  become  encrim- 
soned  with  the  blood  of  men  on  that  great  day  whose 
story  we  are  now  to  tell,  is  described  by  travelers  as  one 
of  the  fairest  scenes  in  Palestine. 

The  lake  is  not  large,  but  its  blue  waters  are  skimmed 
by  myriads  of  water-fowl  which  make  their  home  in  the 
forests  of  wavy  reeds  growing  at  the  northern  point  where 
the  Jordan  enters  it.  On  the  gentle  undulation  of  the  hills 
that  slope  to  it  on  the  western  side  all  the  episodes  of  pas- 
toral Hfe  are  transacted ;  whilst,  from  the  farther  side,  the 
gaunt  hills,  two  miles  across,  frown  upon  the  placid  scene. 

To  this  sweet  spot  as  mustering-place,  Jabin,  King  of 
Hazor,  aroused  at  last  to  fear  and  action  by  the  tidings  of 
the  day  of  Gibeon,  summoned  all  the  tribes  of  the  north  of 
Canaan.  Well  would  it  have  been  for  him — speaking  after 
the  manner  of  men — if  he  had  not  delayed  so  long,  but 
had  concentrated  his  forces  in  time  to  cooperate  with 
Adonizedek,  marching  from  the  north  simultaneously  with 

131 


132  CLAIMING   VICTORY. 

the  attack  of  the  latter  against  Gibeon.  To  compensate 
for  his  lost  opportunity,  he  now  sent  messengers  with  speed 
to  raise  the  country.  Possibly  he  adopted  words  hke  those 
with  which,  in  after  years,  Saul  summoned  Israel  to  follow 
him  to  Jabesh-Gilead,  where  he  took  a  yoke  of  oxen  and 
cut  them  in  pieces,  and  sent  them  throughout  all  the  bor- 
ders of  Israel,  by  the  hand  of  messengers,  saying,  "  Who- 
soever Cometh  not  forth  after  Saul  and  after  Samuel,  so 
shall  it  be  done  unto  his  oxen." 

Throughout  the  hills  of  Galilee  the  messengers  sped — to 
the  far  north  beneath  the  shadow  of  Lebanon,  all  down  the 
Valley  of  Esdraelon  to  Carmel,  and  along  the  shores  of  the 
Great  Sea.  The  Jebusite  heard  the  summons  in  the  hill 
country,  and  the  Hivite  under  Hermon  in  the  land  of 
Mizpeh ;  and  even  some  remnants  of  the  shattered  south- 
ern confederacy  seem  to  have  poured  their  scanty  contri- 
bution into  the  accumulated  ranks  of  that  great  host. 
"  They  went  out,  they  and  all  their  hosts  with  them,  much 
people,  even  as  the  sand  that  is  upon  the  seashore  in  mul- 
titude." 

It  was  no  time  for  dalliance  in  the  camp  at  Gilgal, 
whither  Joshua  had  led  back  his  warriors  to  recruit  after 
their  toils ;  and  as  soon  as  tidings  reached  him,  he  started 
with  his  army  on  the  five  days'  journey  that  intervened 
between  Gilgal  and  Merom,  and  marched  to  perhaps  the 
greatest  battle  of  his  Hfe.  Josephus  tells  us  that  the  united 
forces  consisted  of  300,000  foot,  100,000  horses,  and 
20,000  chariots.  He  says  also  that  the  Israelites  were 
terrified  at  having  to  encounter  the  iron  chariots  which 
drove  swiftly  into  the  ranks  of  an  opposing  army,  enabling 
the  warriors  to  discharge  their  missiles  with  terrible  effect. 
It  may  be  that  some  tidings  of  the  immense  array  that  lay 
waiting  for  him  within  the  circle  of  the  hills  reached  Joshua 
when  he  was  within  a  day's  march  of  the  camp.     A  sense 


THE  FINAL  yiCTORY.  133 

of  the  awfulness  of  the  crisis  may  for  a  moment  have 
thrilled  his  soul ;  but  the  steadfastness  of  his  courage  knew 
no  shock,  because,  simultaneously  with  the  tidings,  there 
came  the  divine  assurance,  **Be  not  afraid  because  of 
them ;  for  to-morrow  about  this  time  I  will  dehver  them 
up  all  slain  before  Israel." 

Joshua  repeated  the  tactics  which  had  been  so  success- 
ful previously.  He  came  against  them  suddenly,  perhaps 
in  the  early  dawn.  As  the  Israehtes  fell  upon  them,  the 
vast  host  was  seized  with  panic.  Angel  hosts,  no  doubt, 
cooperated  from  the  heavenlies  with  the  armies  of  the 
Lord ;  and  the  vaunted  pride  of  the  kings  bit  the  dust  as 
they  beheld  the  awful  rout  that  followed.  Thousands  must 
have  fallen  beneath  the  avenging  sword ;  whilst  three  great 
bodies  of  fugitives  made  their  way,  one  to  the  city  of 
Zidon,  forty  miles  distant ;  one  to  the  seacoast,  where  in 
after  years  Elijah  sojourned  with  the  widow ;  one  to  Miz- 
peh,  sheltering  under  Hermon. 

The  strength  of  the  foe  was  broken ;  but  for  some  years 
after  this  final  victory  Joshua  carried  on  a  campaign  against 
the  cities  standing,  each  on  its  mound  or  hill  (r.v.),  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  time,  from  which  Jabin  and  his 
allies  had  sallied  forth  to  fight.  Hazor  was  burned,  prob- 
ably to  intimidate  the  rest,  being  the  most  prominent  in  the 
alliance  against  Israel.  For  the  rest,  it  was  deemed  suffi- 
cient to  destroy  the  inhabitants  that  could  bear  arms,  to 
render  the  horses  useless,  and  to  burn  the  chariots.  "  As 
the  Lord  commanded  Moses  his  servant,  so  did  Moses 
command  Joshua,  and  so  did  Joshua ;  he  left  nothing  un- 
done of  all  that  the  Lord  commanded  Moses." 

The  Anakim  warriors  of  extraordinary  height,  who  had 
been  the  dread  of  Israel,  were  destroyed,  together  with 
their  cities ;  and,  nominally  at  least,  the  whole  land  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Israel. 


134  CLAIMING  yiCTORY. 

I.  It  was  a  Decisive  Victory. — Often  before  had  the 
Canaanites  rallied  to  oppose  the  progress  of  Israel;  but 
never  after  this  did  they  dare  to  meet  them  in  battle  array. 
Their  spirit  was  crushed,  their  power  quelled.  And  herein 
we  are  reminded  of  the  ascension  of  that  greater  Con- 
queror of  whom  Joshua  was  a  type. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  those  dark  powers,  who  had 
opposed  our  Saviour  throughout  his  earthly  life,  mustered 
for  one  last  struggle  as  he  left  beneath  his  feet  the  cloud, 
bathed  in  the  roseate  light  of  dawn,  that  hid  him  from  the 
eyes  of  his  disciples.  There  is  some  trace  of  this  in  the 
words  of  the  Apostle,  who  tells  us  that  he  was  raised  far 
above  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power,  employing  the 
very  terms  afterward  used  of  our  conflict  with  the  wicked 
spirits  in  the  heavenhes  (Eph.  i.  21  ;  vi.  12). 

But  in  any  case  he  triumphed  over  all  that  opposed  him. 
**  Having  put  off  from  himself  the  principalities  and  the 
powers,  he  made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over 
them."  And  the  Apostle,  borrowing  from  one  of  the 
subhmest  triumphal  odes  in  the  world,  speaks  of  him  as 
leading  captivity  captive  (Col.  ii.  15  ;   Eph.  iv.  8). 

Through  the  prophetess  Deborah  the  Spirit  of  God  first 
uttered  that  significant  phrase  when  celebrating  Israel's 
victory  over  a  later  Jabin,  King  of  Hazor: — 

"Arise,  Barak,  and  lead  thy  captivity  captive, 
Thou  son  of  Abinoam." 

The  thought  undoubtedly  is  that  when  the  down-trodden 
becomes  at  last  the  victor,  he  leads  captive  that  which  had 
led  him  and  others  in  captivity.  The  captive-making 
tyrant  becomes  in  turn  a  captive. 

So  it  was  when  Jesus  rose  and  ascended  into  heaven. 
Up  to  that  time  Satan  had  usurped  a  supreme  power  over 


LEADING   CAPTIVITY  CAPTIVE.  135 

man ;  by  the  wiles  of  his  temptations ;  by  the  witchery  of 
the  world ;  by  the  dread  terrors  of  death  and  the  grave ; 
and  by  the  virulence  of  his  accusations.  None  had  been 
able  to  withstand  him,  and  it  seemed  as  if  devil-power  must 
be  forever  triumphant  over  man — over  the  strongest,  as 
Samson  ;  the  wisest,  as  Solomon ;  the  meekest,  as  Moses ; 
the  innocent,  as  Adam.  But  all  this  was  reversed  by  the 
glorious  deeds  of  our  blessed  Master,  who,  in  his  death, 
resurrection,  and  ascension  defeated  the  devil,  and  demon- 
strated for  evermore  the  supremacy  of  man  in  him  over  all 
the  dark  powers  that  infest  the  earth  or  air  or  heavenly 
places.  "  He  led  captivity  captive."  We  can  almost  see 
the  long  Hne  of  princely  captives  following  his  triumphal 
car  as  he  ascends — the  world,  which  he  had  overcome ; 
death,  which  he  had  aboHshed ;  Hades,  the  keys  of  which 
were  wrenched  from  it  to  hang  henceforth  at  his  girdle ; 
the  devil  and  his  hosts ;  the  principalities  and  powers  of 
hell,  led  as  a  long  hne  of  slaves. 

Never  again  need  that  conflict  be  repeated.  It  has  been 
decisively  demonstrated  to  the  universe,  and  established 
forever,  that  though  the  first  Adam  was  not  able  to  with- 
stand the  assaults  of  the  devil,  but  succumbed  with  all  his 
race,  yet  the  second  Adam  has  proved  himself  more  than 
conqueror ;  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  all  who  are  one 
with  him  by  faith.  There  may  be  war  in  heaven ;  but  it 
will  largely  resemble  the  warfare  carried  on  by  Joshua  after 
his  final  victory — harassing  and  difficult,  perhaps,  but  of 
no  importance  as  affecting  the  result  of  the  successes 
already  gained.  If  Jesus  vanquished  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness when  they  hurled  themselves  on  him  in  the  hour  of  his 
weakness  and  mortal  agony,  is  it  to  be  supposed  for  a  mo- 
ment that  they  will  be  able  to  effect  anything  now  that  he 
sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  girded  with  power  and  glory? 


136  CLAIMING  VICTORY. 

II.  This  Victory  needed  to  be  Followed  up  and 
Appropriated. — Though  the  victories  of  Israel  were  de- 
cisive, yet  there  was  a  sense  in  which  they  were  incomplete. 
It  is  true  that  Joshua  destroyed  the  cities  and  those  whom 
he  found  in  them ;  but  it  would  seem  that  many  of  the 
inhabitants  had  previously  retired  for  safety  to  the  rocky 
fastnesses  or  caves  in  the  vicinity  of  their  homes,  so  that  as 
soon  as  the  wave  of  conquest  had  passed  over  the  land  and 
subsided,  they  emerged  from  their  hiding-places,  and  re- 
occupied  their  possessions  in  houses  and  lands  from  which 
they  had  been  temporarily  dislodged.  This  was  according 
to  the  word  of  Moses,  who  had  predicted  this  very  state  of 
things  when  he  said,  "The  Lord  thy  God  will  cast  out 
those  nations  before  thee  by  little  and  Httle ;  thou  mayest 
not  consume  them  at  once,  lest  the  beasts  of  the  field  in- 
crease upon  thee." 

It  would  have  been  in  the  highest  degree  impolitic  to 
have  exterminated  all  the  inhabitants,  for  the  land  would 
have  gone  out  of  cultivation ;  the  terraces,  which  were  so 
needful  in  that  hilly  country,  would  have  become  broken 
down ;  and  the  water-courses  would  have  fallen  hopelessly 
out  of  repair.  And  all  this  in  addition  to  the  reason  alleged 
by  the  great  lawgiver  that  the  wild  beasts  would  have 
multipHed  to  an  alarming  and  dangerous  extent.  How 
much  wiser,  then,  that  the  displacement  of  the  Canaanites 
should  be  by  a  gradual  process.  The  victories  of  Joshua 
were  decisive,  but  they  were  not  final.  They  needed  to 
be  followed  up  by  the  various  tribes.  There  was  no  more 
doubt  as  to  their  success  in  prosecuting  their  victories  than 
there  had  been  in  winning  them.  The  one  was  as  much 
guaranteed  by  the  divine  promise  as  the  other.  In  the 
same  breath  as  Moses  had  proclaimed  the  gradual  process 
of  Israel's  settlement  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  he  announced 
that  the  Lord  their  God  would  deliver  their  enemies  up 


APPROPRIATION  BY  THE  TRIBES.  137 

before  them,  discomfiting  them  with  a  great  discomfiture 
till  they  were  destroyed  (Deut.  vii.  23). 

The  sacred  historian  even  affirms  that  it  was  of  the  Lord 
to  harden  their  hearts,  to  come  against  Israel  in  battle, 
that  he  might  utterly  destroy  them  (Josh.  xi.  20).  We 
must  not  suppose,  of  course,  that  God  stepped  in  to  pro- 
duce, in  the  case  of  these  Canaanites,  a  result  which  would 
not  have  accrued  to  them  by  the  working  out  of  the  nat- 
ural laws  which  he  has  instituted.  God  loved  them  as  he 
loves  the  world.  They  were  included  in  the  propitiation 
of  Christ.  They  might  have  been  saved,  as  Rahab  was. 
And  when  it  is  said  that  God  hardened  their  hearts,  we 
must  understand  that  their  hearts  became  hardened  by  sin- 
ning against  their  Hght;  in  accordance  with  that  great 
principle  which  God  has  established,  that  if  a  man  resists 
his  convictions  of  right  he  becomes  more  inveterate  in  his 
sinful  ways.  God  is  thus  said  to  do  what  is  done  by  the 
working  out  of  the  laws  of  that  moral  universe  which  he 
has  constituted.  It  is  clear  that  the  Canaanites  knew  that 
God  was  with  Israel.  Rahab  said,  "  I  know  that  the  Lord 
hath  given  you  the  land,  and  that  your  terror  is  fallen  upon 
us,  and  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  melt  away  be- 
fore you.  For  we  have  heard,  .  .  .  and  as  soon  as  we  had 
heard  it,  our  hearts  did  melt ;  ...  for  the  Lord  your  God, 
he  is  God  in  heaven  above,  and  on  earth  beneath" 
(Josh.  ii.  9-1 1 ).  And  the  Gibeonites  said,  "We  have 
heard  the  fame  of  the  Lord,  and  all  that  he  did  in  Egypt" 
(ix.  9,  10).  There  is  no  doubt,  then,  that  throughout  the 
land  there  had  gone  forth  the  fame  of  God ;  and  when  the 
kings  flung  their  hosts  in  battle  against  Israel  it  was  as  it 
has  always  been : 

"  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 
And  the  rulers  take  counsel  together, 
Against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Anointed." 


138  CLAIMING   VICTORY. 

But  how  rich  is  the  spiritual  lesson  to  be  derived  from 
the  peculiarity  of  this  gradual  appropriation  of  Joshua's 
achievements!  "Joshua  took  the  whole  land,  according 
to  all  that  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses ;  and  Joshua  gave  it 
for  an  inheritance  unto  Israel,  according  to  their  divisions 
by  their  tribes."  Yet  Israel  had  to  fight  over  every  inch 
of  soil  to  drive  out  their  conquered  foes.  So,  as  we  have 
seen,  our  blessed  Lord  has  won  a  decisive  victory  over  all 
our  foes ;  but  we  have  to  claim  it  repeatedly  until,  in  the 
case  of  each  of  us,  death,  that  last  enemy,  is  destroyed. 

The  world  is  overcome ;  but  we  must  overcome  it  by 
faith.  The  flesh  has  been  nailed  to  the  cross,  and  the  old 
man  has  been  done  away ;  but  we  have  by  the  Spirit  to 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  that  we  may  live.  The 
devil  has  been  vanquished  once  for  all ;  but  we  have  to 
hide  ourselves  in  the  Only-begotten,  trusting  him  to  keep 
us,  so  that  the  evil  one  may  not  touch  us.  The  grave  and 
death  have  been  passed  and  left  behind  in  the  triumphal 
procession  of  the  second  Adam ;  but  we  must  meet  them, 
unless  he  come  first,  saying,  as  we  approach  them,  "  O 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory? 
Thanks  be  unto  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  We  are  more  than  conquerors  in 
all  things  through  him  that  loved  us :  but  there  never  will 
be  a  day  in  our  history  when  we  shall  not  need  to  over- 
come by  the  word  of  our  testimony  and  by  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb.  Therefore  the  voice  of  the  ascended  Jesus 
speaks  in  sevenfold  benediction  to  them  that  overcome. 

There  is  no  foe  to  your  growth  in  grace,  no  enemy  in 
your  Christian  work,  no  dreaded  form  of  evil  dominating 
and  cursing  the  souls  of  men,  which  was  not  included  in 
your  Saviour's  conquests.  You  need  not  be  atraid  of 
them.  When  you  touch  them,  they  will  flee  before  you. 
God  has  promised  to  deliver  them  up  before  you.     Only 


FAITH  OyERCOMETH   THE  tVORLD.  139 

be  strong  and  very  courageous!  Fear  not,  nor  be  dis- 
mayed !  The  Lord  is  with  you,  O  mighty  men  of  valor — 
mighty  because  one  with  the  Mightiest.  Claim  victory! 
Whenever  your  enemies  close  in  upon  you,  c/aim  victory! 
Whenever  heart  and  flesh  fail,  look  up  and  claim  victory! 
Be  sure  that  you  have  a  share  in  that  triumph,  which  Jesus 
won  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  us  all ;  remember  that 
you  were  in  him,  when  he  won  it — and  claim  victory! 
Reckon  that  it  is  yours,  and  gather  spoil.  Neither  the 
Anakim  nor  fenced  cities  need  daunt  or  abash  you.  You 
are  one  of  the  conquering  legion.  Claim  your  share  in  the 
Saviour's  victory. 


XV. 
VicBt  in  tl)e  iicavznlUi. 

(Joshua  xi.  23.) 

•*  He  saw  with  Faith's  far-reaching  eye  the  fount 
Of  life,  his  Father's  house,  his  Saviour  God; 
And  borrowed  thence  to  help  his  present  want  .  .  • 
And  so  his  eye  upon  the  land  of  life 
He  kept." 

POLLOK. 

THE  Book  of  Joshua  naturally  divides  itself  into  two 
parts,  the  first  of  which  deals  with  the  conquest,  the 
second  with  the  partition  of  the  Land  of  Promise.  The 
junction  of  these  two  is  at  the  close  of  the  eleventh  chap- 
ter. There  the  story  of  the  conquest  ends,  and  that  of  the 
partition  begins.  And  just  there  we  have  the  significant 
record,  "And  the  land  had  rest  from  war" — a  note  of 
blessed  tranquillity  and  peace,  which  is  repeated  in  the 
fourteenth  chapter.  But  even  that  is  not  all ;  for  in  the 
twenty-first  chapter  we  are  again  told  that  "  the  Lord  gave 
Israel  rest  round  about,  according  to  all  that  he  sware  unto 
their  fathers." 

Now,  all  this  is  in  precise  keeping  with  the  spiritual 
analogy  that  we  have  been  tracing  throughout  this  book ; 
and  indeed  the  symbolism  is  so  close  that  we  are  certain 
that  we  are  not  following  cunningly  devised  fables,  but  are 
tracing  the  patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens,  sure  anticipa- 
tions of  the  plans  and  designs  of  God.     He  who  embodied 

140 


OUR  SAl^lOUR'S  REST.  141 

anticipations  of  Calvary  in  the  sacrifices  and  offerings  of 
Leviticus,  embodied  anticipations  of  the  empty  grave  and 
the  Ascension  Mount  in  the  conquest  and  apportionment 
of  Canaan  by  Joshua.  In  the  case  of  the  glorious  Anti- 
type there  was  also  a  pause  of  blessed  rest.  Between  the 
completion  of  his  victory  and  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  we  are  told  that  he  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of 
God.  And  in  her  noblest  song  the  Church  has  repeatedly 
addressed  him  thus :  "  Thou  sittest  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  in  the  Glory  of  the  Father." 

The  session  of  our  Lord  Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  God 
is  a  graphic  and  beautiful  metaphor,  pregnant  with  food 
for  holy  thought.  Obviously,  it  asserts  the  glorious  honor 
of  his  majesty,  that  he  is  one  with  God  in  his  divine  nature. 
With  equal  clearness,  it  indicates  the  oneness  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  in  the  divine  Unity  of  Being,  albeit  that  he  now 
wears  our  nature.  But  with  similar  force,  it  teaches  us 
that  he  rests.  The  sitting  posture  naturally  suggests  re- 
pose. And  we  may  reverently  ask  what  was  the  nature  of 
his  rest,  that  we  too  may  enjoy  the  Sabbath,  which  he 
keeps  through  the  ages. 

I.  Our  Saviour's  Rest. — It  was  not  the  rest  of  over- 
weariness.  When  a  man  has  wrought  with  vigor,  he  throws 
himself  into  a  sitting  posture  to  recruit  his  exhausted  ener- 
gies. Now  it  is  true  that  Jesus  never  spared  himself.  The 
intensity  of  his  love  and  pity  consumed  prematurely  the 
lantern  in  which  they  had  been  kindled.  There  had  been 
the  strain  of  unceasing  toils,  unsleeping  vigils,  and  bitter 
sorrow ;  there  had  been  the  anguish  of  the  Garden,  and 
the  weight  of  human  sin ;  but  none  of  these  had  availed  to 
exhaust  the  divine  energy  of  his  being.  On  the  morning 
of  the  resurrection  he  awoke,  as  a  sleeper  from  refreshing 
slumber.     He  had  not  fainted,  neither  was  he  weary.     And 


142  REST  IN   THE  HEAVENUES. 

whatever  else  it  meant,  his  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God 
did  not  imply  that  the  Saviour  had  overspent  himself,  and 
needed  rest. 

Did  it  mean  that  he  had  entered  on  a  period  of  inaction, 
and  that  there  would  be  a  pause  put  on  his  redemptive 
energies?  The  supposition  has  only  to  be  stated  to  be  dis- 
missed. The  evangehst  Mark,  who  ends  his  Gospel  on 
the  high  note  of  the  Saviour's  session  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  instantly  and  in  the  same  breath  tells  us  that  when 
his  disciples  went  forth  and  preached  everywhere,  the  Lord 
worked  with  them,  and  confirmed  the  word  by  the  signs 
that  followed.  The  descent  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost,  the 
government  and  maintenance  of  the  Chxirch,  the  perpetual 
communication  of  hfe  and  power  from  the  Head  to  the 
members  of  his  body,  prove  that  behind  the  veil,  which 
trembles  as  each  spirit  whom  we  have  loved  enters  behind 
it,  Jesus  is  at  work.  For  Zion's  sake  he  does  not  hold  his 
peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's  sake  he  will  not  rest. 

The  Rest  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  symbolized  by  his  session 
at  God's  right  hand,  was  therefore  not  that  of  weakness  or 
inactivity.  What  was  it?  Surely  it  meant  that  he  had 
finished  that  which  he  rose  up  to  do.  He  arose  from 
the  throne,  emptied  himself  of  his  glory,  stripped  himself 
of  much  that  was  his  by  inherent  right,  and  became  flesh — 
that  he  might  finish  transgression,  make  an  end  of  sins, 
make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  bring  in  everlasting 
righteousness.  All  these  things  he  had  done.  On  the 
cross,  he  said,  *'  It  is  finished  "  ;  from  the  throne,  he  could 
say,  "  It  is  done."  As  it  was  said  of  Joshua,  so  it  might 
be  said  of  that  greater  Joshua,  "  He  left  nothing  undone." 
And  therefore,  as  the  Father  entered  into  his  rest,  when  he 
had  ceased  from  the  work  of  creation — a  rest,  not  of  weari- 
ness or  inactivity,  but  of  a  completed  scheme ;  so  did  the 
3on  enter  into  his  rest  when  he  ceased  from  laying  the 


"IT  IS  FINISHED."  143 

foundations,  both  of  his  redemptive  work  and  of  the  future 
triumphs  of  his  Church.  Not  weary;  not  inactive;  but 
so  far  satisfied.  He  had  done  all  that  he  essayed  to  do, 
all  that  could  be  done,  and  he  sat  down — the  attitude  of 
completion ;  of  contentment ;  of  calm  expectancy  for  an 
inevitable  result. 

There  is  therefore  great  doctrinal  significance  in  this 
vision  of  Christ,  which  perhaps  has  not  been  sufficiently 
considered.  To  quote  words  from  the  last  charge  of  Dr. 
Wordsworth,  the  late  lamented  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  "  It 
must,  I  am  afraid,  be  said  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  ses- 
sion at  the  right  hand  of  God,  though  stated  plainly  and 
repeatedly — not  less  than  a  dozen  times — in  the  New 
Testament,  and  embodied  in  each  of  our  three  creeds,  is 
not  receiving  from  us  the  attention  it  deserves.  It  has 
been  obscured  by  the  undue  prominence  given  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  other  character  in  which  he  not  only  intercedes 
for  us,  but  is  supposed  to  be  continually  pleading  in  our 
behalf  the  merits  of  his  precious  death  and  sacrifice  offered 
once  for  all  upon  the  cross."  And  then  he  quotes  with 
approval  the  words  of  the  Liturgy,  in  reference  to  our 
Lord's  sacrifice :  "  He  is  the  very  Paschal  Lamb  which 
was  offered  for  us,  and  hath  taken  away  the  sin  of  the 
world." 

When  once  the  believer  apprehends  the  meaning  of  the 
Lord's  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  he  is  not  only 
assured  of  the  divine  majesty  of  Jesus,  and  of  the  Father's 
acceptance  of  his  mediatorial  work,  but  he  goes  further  to 
realize  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  added  to  that  finished 
work.  Since  Jesus  sits  in  the  heavenly  places,  his  sacrifice 
is  sufficient  and  complete ;  his  blood  can  avail  for  sins  of 
crimson  dye,  and  for  a  race  of  sinners ;  his  obedience  unto 
death  has  satisfied  the  demands  of  law,  and  its  sword  is 
sheathed ;  and  through  the  universe,  like  a  peal  of  marriage 


V44  REST  IN  THE  HEAyENLIES. 

bells  ringing  in  heaven,  there  goes  the  announcement  that 
there  is  now  no  condemnation. 

But  there  is  an  experimental  significance  also  in  the  re- 
peated affirmation  of  Scripture  that  our  Lord  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  God.  We  must  never  fail  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  work  of  Jesus,  since  he  took  our  nature  into  union 
with  himself,  is  as  the  representative  man.  As  such  he 
died,  and  rose,  and  reigns.  And  just  in  proportion  as  we 
are  one  with  him  by  a  living  faith,  we  also  shall  die,  and 
rise,  and  reign.  Such  thoughts  were  burning  in  the  heart 
of  the  Apostle,  when  he  said,  "  God  raised  us  up  with  him, 
and  made  us  to  sit  with  him  in  the  heavenly  places  in 
Christ  Jesus."  As  the  cathedral  dome  rears  itself  above 
the  roar  and  strife,  the  smoke  and  mist,  the  slush  and  dirt 
of  the  streets — above  the  lounge  of  the  idle,  the  hurry  of 
the  business  men,  and  the  cry  of  the  huckster  and  city 
Arab — so  it  is  the  purpose  of  God  that  we  should  sit  with 
Christ  and  in  Christ ;  that  we  should  share  in  his  triumph, 
his  reign,  and  especially  his  rest;  that  we  should  drink 
deep  draughts  from  the  crystal  depths  of  that  river  which 
washes  the  foot  of  the  eternal  throne. 

II.  In  what  Respect  may  we  Share  Christ's  Rest? 
— It  is  a  very  needful  question.  Some  of  us  have  been 
men  of  war  from  our  youth ;  we  must  see  to  it,  lest,  }ike 
David,  we  should  be  debarred  from  building  the  Temple 
of  God.  Only  Solomons,  whose  names  bespeak  their 
peace,  are  competent  for  that.  It  is  only  when  we  are  at 
rest  that  we  can  do  our  best  work.  It  is  said  that  it  is 
impossible  to  get  the  highest  results  of  workmanship,  when 
the  workers  are  perturbed  by  the  fever  and  rush  of  our 
modem  hfe.  The  masterpieces  of  art  come  from  days 
when  the  strain  and  pace  were  less,  or  from  workshops 
where  the  roar  of  the  tide  is  hardly  heard,  and  the  rush  of 


THE  RESTFUL  HEART  I45 

life's  hurricane  is  almost  unperceived.  So  our  best  work 
for  God  cannot  be  done  unless  we  have  learned  to  be 
quiet;  still,  that  God  may  mold  us;  tranquil,  that  the 
tremor  of  our  nerves  may  not  interfere  with  the  thrill  of  his 
energy ;  calm,  that  we  may  drop  the  silt  and  mud,  which 
make  our  hearts  so  dull  and  so  inapt  to  mirror  the  deep 
blue  of  the  heavens  above. 

The  restful  heart  Hves  above  the  storm  and  strife,  with 
Christ ;  sensitive  to  human  sorrow  and  to  its  own,  but  able 
to  discern  the  purposes  of  divine  wisdom;  to  await  the 
unfolding  of  the  divine  plan ;  and  to  trust  the  love  of  the 
divine  heart.  It  keeps  silence  for  his  word.  Its  daily 
taslcs  are  holy.  It  is  not  disturbed  by  emotional  change. 
Such  is  its  acquiescence  in  the  divine  will  that  it  is  content 
with  whatever  comes.  Its  winters  are  always  going,  its 
springs  always  coming;  the  turtles  call  softly  within  its 
woods,  the  flowers  deck  its  soil.  "  I  felt,"  said  Fletcher, 
"  the  will  of  my  God  hke  unto  a  soft  pillow,  upon  which 
I  could  he  down  and  find  rest  and  safety  in  all  circum- 
stances," 

There  is  no  unnatural  quietism  in  this  life — ^rather  the 
most  intense  earnestness  and  activity.  When  the  nature 
is  yielded  up  completely  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  attains  to  a 
speed  of  movement  and  a  strength  of  endeavor,  which  can 
only  be  accounted  for  by  remembering  that  when  once  a 
man  has  surrendered  himself  to  the  current  of  the  divine 
nature,  he  will  acquire  something  of  its  velocity  and  force. 
But  in  the  midst  of  the  most  rapid  and  vehement  move- 
ment there  is  rest — deep  rest,  sweet  rest. 

There  is  the  Rest  of  Reconciliation.  The  soul  no  longer 
works  up  toward  the  cross  to  obtain  justification.  It  is 
assured  that  all  that  needed  to  be  done  to  win  it  had  been 
done  when  Jesus  said,  "  It  is  finished."  Thus  standing  at 
the  cross-foot,  conscious  of  his  acceptance  through  the 


146  REST  IN   THE  HEAVEN  LIES. 

precious  blood,  the  redeemed  sinner  cries,  "  Who  shall  lay- 
any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  "  And  he  does  not 
wait  for  a  counter-challenge,  because  he  is  so  sure  that  there 
can  be  none. 

There  is  the  Rest  of  Assured  Victory.  Before  we  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  ascension,  we  oppose 
Satan  by  the  armory  of  our  own  resolves,  and  efforts  at 
amendment.  We  fight  and  strive,  and  vow  and  fail,  and 
start  again.  But  when  we  realize  all  that  Jesus  has  done, 
we  come  to  see  that  Satan  is  a  conquered  foe ;  that  his 
weapons  cannot  reach  a  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God ; 
and  that  so  long  as  we  maintain  our  standing  in  our  risen 
Lord,  we  need  not  dread  his  attacks,  nor  be  perturbed  in 
the  affray. 

There  is  the  Rest  of  a  Surrendered  Will.  When  our  wills 
move  off  the  pivot  of  self  on  to  the  pivot  of  God,  then  our 
lives  become  concentric  with  the  Hfe  of  God ;  our  hearts 
are  allured  to  his  love,  our  feet  keep  step  to  the  marching 
music  of  his  divine  purpose.  Oh,  the  bliss  of  living  when 
our  wills  blend  with  his,  like  perfect  words  married  to  per- 
fect music!  Then  trial  and  sorrow  are  treated  as  our 
Father's  messengers,  but  in  their  winter  costume.  Then 
our  very  infirmities  indicate  the  direction  into  which  we 
should  send  our  energies.  Then  disappointment  becomes 
impossible,  because  all  is  God-appointed.  Then  we  always 
have  our  way,  because  God's  and  ours  are  one.  Then 
prayer  is  the  discovery  of  God's  plans,  and  a  taking  hold 
of  his  willingness.  Then  the  heart  keeps  Sabbath,  like  a 
valley  encircled  by  the  great  mountains  on  which  the 
storms  expend  themselves. 

There  is  the  Rest  of  Unbrokefi  Fellowship.  For  as  Jesus 
is  one  with  the  Father,  so  we  become  one  with  him,  and 
through  him  one  with  the  Blessed  Trinity,  according  to  his 
own  prayer :   "  I  in  them,  and  Thou  in  Me,  that  they  may 


THE  REST  OF  PERFECT  LOVE,  147 

be  made  perfect  in  one."  What  pen  can  describe  the 
blessed  fellowship  between  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  in  the  serene  tranquillity  of  the  divine  nature  ? 
Yet  something  of  that  may  be  realized  by  those  who  claim 
that  they  shall  be  admitted  to  enjoy  all  that  Jesus  has  pur- 
chased for  his  Churcho 

There  is  the  Rest  of  Perfect  Love.  Our  affections  have 
sorely  troubled  us,  straying  far  away  to  forbidden  things, 
and  allying  us  to  many  drifting  islets,  lovely  to  the  eye, 
but  unstable  as  the  tide.  But  when  we  enter  into  the 
life  of  the  Ascended  Jesus — which  is  the  life  of  Pente- 
cost— we  find  that  our  hearts  become  pervaded  by  the 
love  of  God.  There  is  no  longer  the  murmur  of  the  bab- 
bling brook;  because  the  great  ocean  has  poured  its 
waters  up,  filling  its  bed.  There  is  no  longer  the  yearn- 
ing and  jealousy  and  bitterness  of  unsatisfied  desire ;  be- 
cause the  heart  has  found  in  God  all  its  desires  more  than 
met.  It  hungers  no  more,  neither  thirsts  any  more ;  for 
the  Lamb  who  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  satisfies  it  with 
the  green  pastures  and  still  waters  of  eternal  love.  It  is 
silent  in  its  love. 

There  is  also  the  Rest  of  the  Holy  Heart.  It  is  not  oc- 
cupied with  inbred  lust,  not  tossed  to  and  fro  on  seething 
passion,  or  driven  by  every  gusty  whim.  The  flesh  is  cru- 
cified, the  self-principle  is  quelled,  the  empire  of  the  Holy 
Saviour  is  supreme.  Emmanuel  has  taken  the  throne,  and 
all  discordant  elements  are  still. 

It  may  be  that  some  who  read  these  Hues  are  passing 
through  great  suffering,  and  in  that  suffering  are  tempted 
to  feverish  restlessness.  They  expend  themselves  as  the 
imprisoned  songster  from  the  woods  that  beats  itself  pas- 
sionately against  its  cage  bars.  It  is  almost  useless  to  bid 
such  to  rest  and  be  still.  They  must  learn  the  source  of 
rest.     Let  them  see  that  Jesus  has  entered  into  his  rest  that 


148  REST  IN  THE  HEAyENLIES. 

they  might  enter  it  too.  Let  them  open  their  hearts  for 
him  to  breathe  in  his  gentle  resurrection  message,  "  Peace 
be  unto  you."  Let  them  reverently  and  believingly  claim 
this  also  as  part  of  their  inheritance,  of  which  they  are  co- 
heirs with  Christ. 

III.  How  TO  Enjoy  this  Rest. — But  these  blessed 
experiences  are  only  possible  through  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  ascension  of  Jesus  is  mystically  and 
inevitably  connected  with  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
As  the  one  Advocate  passed  up  into  the  glory,  the  other 
came  down  into  the  heart  of  the  Church,  that  he  might 
realize  in  our  experience  that  which  is  ours  in  the  purpose 
and  intention  of  God,  creating  within  us  the  faith  that  shall 
be  able  to  claim  oiu*  share  in  that  inheritance  of  rest  which 
Christ  has  won  for  us.  You  cannot  divorce  these  two 
thoughts ;  or,  if  you  do,  you  will  bring  inevitable  disap- 
pointment into  human  hearts.  If  you  magnify  your  rights 
in  the  glorified  Saviour,  and  fail  to  unfold  the  willingness 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  them  your  own  in  daily  and 
living  enjoyment,  you  set  souls  the  impossible  task  of 
climbing  inaccessible  heights,  and  they  abandon  hope. 
Or,  if  you  always  dwell  on  the  Pentecostal  fullness,  apart 
from  the  Saviour,  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  has  come  to  glo- 
rify, you  drive  souls  into  a  self-analysis,  an  introspection,  a 
spiritual  self-centeredness,  which  is  fatal  to  their  true  devel- 
opment. Teach  men  the  meaning  of  Christ's  session,  and 
that  they  have  a  right  to  all  it  means  of  the  rest  of  God  ; 
but  tell  them  also  that  the  power  to  claim  that  right  is 
through  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  God  hath 
given  to  them  that  obey  him. 

We  must  not  anticipate  the  teaching  of  the  remaining 
chapters.  For  what  student  of  the  analogies  of  this  won- 
derful book  can  doubt  that  "the  much  land  to  be  pos- 


REST  THAT  AlVAITS.  i49 

sessed"  of  the  following  chapters  refers  to  the  gracious 
fullness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  awaits  our  quest?  But 
as  we  close  this  meditation  on  the  rest  that  awaits  all  the 
people  of  God  who  sit  with  Christ  in  the  heavenly  places, 
let  us  lift  our  hearts  to  the  Blessed  Spirit,  asking  that  he 
would  reveal  to  us  that  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man  conceived,  but  which  God 
hath  prepared  for  those  that  love  him. 


XVI. 

tanh  to  be  JJossess^b. 

(Joshua  xiii.  i.) 

"Then  be  it  so! 
For  in  better  things  we  yet  may  grow ; 
Onward  and  upward  still  our  way, 
With  the  joy  of  progress  from  day  to  day; 
Nearer  and  nearer  every  year 
To  the  visions  and  hopes  most  true  and  dear." 

F.  R.  Havergal. 

JOSHUA  was  probably  about  ninety  years  of  age  when 
the  conquest  of  Canaan  was  complete.  But  a  very 
important  part  of  his  work  had  yet  to  be  performed.  It 
would  not  have  been  enough  for  him  to  have  asserted  Is- 
rael's supremacy  over  the  Canaanites,  unless  he  had  taken 
measures  to  follow  up  his  victories  by  settling  the  people 
in  their  stead.  The  work  of  destruction  must  be  succeeded 
by  that  of  construction.  The  warrior  must  give  place  to 
the  administrator  and  statesman. 

The  first  step  toward  the  occupation  of  Canaan  was 
taken  in  the  summons  of  the  Lord  to  his  servant,  who  had 
so  faithfully  performed  all  his  word.  Though  he  was  old 
and  well  stricken  in  years,  he  was  still  the  confidant  of 
Jehovah,  the  depositary  of  his  secrets,  the  executor  of  his 
plans.  To  bear  fruit  in  old  age,  to  put  forth  leaves  and 
fruit  amid  the  decay  of  physical  vigor,  to  sweep  on  from 
the  rapids  of  youth  to  the  deep  water  of  the  river's  mouth 

150 


THE  AREA  DESIGNATED.  151 

with  ever-increasing  fullness  and  abundance  ;  to  be  as  able 
to  build  up  the  people  of  God  in  the  golden  autumn  as  to 
lead  them  to  victory  in  the  early  spring — this  is  no  common 
honor,  no  ordinary  achievement.  And  it  was  a  high  trib- 
ute to  Joshua,  that  when  he  had  overstepped  the  ordinary 
limit  of  human  Hfe  by  twenty  years,  he  was  summoned  to 
put  the  crown  on  the  work  of  his  life. 

The  method  adopted  seems  to  have  been,  first,  a  careful 
survey  of  the  land  not  yet  possessed ;  then  its  apportion- 
ment among  the  several  tribes  according  to  their  size ;  and 
lastly  the  actual  appropriation  and  acquisition  of  each  por- 
tion by  the  efforts  of  the  tribe  to  which  it  was  assigned.  It 
is  with  the  first  of  these  that  we  have  now  to  deal.  After 
the  divine  voice  had  summoned  the  veteran  leader  to  the 
last  great  work  of  his  life,  it  proceeded  to  enumerate  the 
portions  of  land  that  yet  remained ;  and  some  time  after, 
when  seven  of  the  tribes  were  as  yet  unsettled  and  there 
was  urgent  need  for  the  completion  of  the  task,  twenty-one 
commissioners  were  appointed  to  pass  through  the  land  and 
examine  it,  and  make  a  report  concerning  it  to  Joshua  at 
Shiloh. 

It  would  be  interesting,  did  space  permit,  to  examine  the 
area  designated  by  the  divine  Spirit.  This  at  least  we 
must  notice  as  we  pass,  that  it  included  all  the  region  of 
Phihstia,  inhabited  by  some  of  the  stoutest  foes  that  Israel 
ever  encountered,  and  who  were  a  perpetual  source  of 
weakness  and  danger  till  the  times  of  the  kings.  There 
were  also  the  rich  pasture-lands  of  the  south ;  and  in  ad- 
dition the  luxuriant  plain  of  Phoenicia  and  the  fertile  up- 
land valleys,  cooled  by  the  snow-capped  summits  and 
watered  from  the  rills  of  Lebanon,  all  portions  of  the  land 
on  which  Israel  had  always  a  very  slender  hold.  Compare 
this  outline  sketch  of  the  divine  intentions  with  the  territo- 
ries then  actually  held  and  afterward  possessed  by  Israel ; 


152  LAND   TO  BE  POSSESSED. 

and  the  difference  between  God's  ideal  and  their  real  in- 
heritance becomes  very  striking. 

The  same  appalling  contrast  appears  when  we  recall  the 
original  promise  made  to  Joshua  at  the  beginning  of  this 
book.  "  From  the  wilderness  and  this  Lebanon,  even  unto 
the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates,  all  the  land  of  the 
Hittites,  and  unto  the  Great  Sea  toward  the  going  down 
of  the  sun,  shall  be  your  border."  Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
Israel  filled  up  the  measure  of  this  prediction  for  once  only, 
and  for  a  very  short  time,  during  its  tenure  of  Canaan. 
Solomon  did  for  a  brief  space  realize  the  divine  ideal ;  but 
the  radiant  glory  of  his  kingdom  was  soon  hemmed  in  and 
obscured  by  the  clouds  that  drew  up  their  dark  veils  over 
the  sky.  Men  have  sometimes  used  this  as  an  argument 
against  the  divine  veracity.  It  should  rather  be  quoted  as 
a  melancholy  confession  of  human  frailty,  and  of  failure  to 
claim  and  appropriate  the  promises  of  God.  There  is  no 
variableness  in  God.  It  is  impossible  even  for  our  unbe- 
lief to  make  his  promises  of  none  effect. 

Let  us  consider  whether  there  may  not  be  a  similar  con- 
trast between  that  which  God  has  intended  for  us  and  that 
which  we  have  made  our  own.  Spread  out  in  the  Bible, 
and  set  forth  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  there  is  for  us,  as  for 
Joshua,  a  map  of  what  God  desires  for  his  people.  Here, 
as  in  a  divine  Doomsday-book,  is  a  hst  of  the  mountains  of 
vision  and  the  valleys  of  blessing ;  of  the  green  pasture- 
lands  and  the  waters  of  rest ;  of  the  cities  we  may  occupy 
and  the  foes  we  may  expel.  All  is  mapped  out  for  us ; 
and  we  shall  do  wisely  to  carefully  ponder  it,  that  we  may 
be  humbled  as  we  see  the  slow  progress  we  have  made,  and 
may  be  stirred  up  to  apprehend  all  that  for  which  we  were 
apprehended  in  Christ  Jesus. 

I.  In  the  Direction  of  Knowledge. — We  must  dis- 
tinguish between  intellectualism  and  knowledge.    It  is  not 


OUR  KNOIV LEDGE  OF  GOD.  153 

so  difficult  to  acquire  the  former,  with  all  those  aids  for 
acquiring  information  which  abound  around  us.  The  very 
newspaper  press,  awaking  to  discover  that  man  has  other 
needs  than  those  of  the  poHtician,  is  beginning  to  bring  the 
discoveries  of  science  and  the  contents  of  books  to  our 
breakfast  tables.  Leisure  and  taste,  memory  and  mental 
discipline,  observation  and  society  will  do  a  good  deal  to- 
ward imparting  that  strange  veneer  called  culture;  but  this 
is  a  very  different  thing  from  knowledge.  A  man  may  be 
utterly  destitute  of  culture,  and  yet  may  have  that  direct 
and  intuitive  perception  of  truth  which  as  much  surpasses 
it  as  the  blue  of  heaven  does  the  painted  scenery  of  a 
theater.  Whereas  a  man  may  be  quick,  clever,  intellectual, 
well-informed,  and  able  to  lay  his  hands  readily  on  his  in- 
formation, and  yet  be  utterly  destitute  of  the  true  knowl- 
edge. 

God  meant  us  to  know  himself  even  as  Jesus  knew  him, 
in  his  human  life.  Remember  how  often  he  said,  I  know 
him.  No  mist  ever  crept  up  between  the  outspread  land- 
scape of  God's  nature  and  the  loving,  ravished  gaze  that 
swept  over  it;  passing  from  the  high  mountains  of  his 
righteousness  to  the  great  sea  of  his  judgments ;  and  dwell- 
ing with  rapture  on  the  verdant  tracts  of  his  love  and  pity 
and  grace,  on  the  mighty  rivers  that  represent  the  fertilizing 
out-goings  of  his  being,  and  on  the  wealth  of  that  blessed 
existence,  like  a  summer-land,  every  inch  of  which  is  full 
of  ripening  fruit.  Such  knowledge,  high  and  wonderful 
though  it  be,  and  unattainable  by  our  own  endeavors,  is 
brought  within  our  reach  by  our  Blessed  Lord.  He  gives 
us  eternal  Hfe  in  order  that  we  might  know  the  only  true 
God.  He  bids  us  stand  on  Calvary  that  we  may  behold 
the  heart  of  the  Father.  He  reveals  God  to  us  in  his  own 
life,  so  that  to  know  him  is  to  know  God.  And  yet  how 
httle  do  we  know  the  Father!  We  know  httle  about  him, 
and  less  of  him  by  personal  intimacy  and  fellowship. 


154  LAND   TO  BE  POSSESSED. 

To  take  the  lowest  test,  our  knowledge  of  God's  Word. 
Whilst  some  individual  explorers  have  pressed  on  into  un- 
known and  untrodden  lands,  the  large  majority  of  profess- 
ing Christians  are  content  with  a  few  familiar  and  well- 
trodden  patches.  They  read  and  read  again  the  same 
passages  in  the  Gospels,  the  Psalms,  or  Isaiah;  but  they 
never  venture  into  the  unexplored  territory  beyond.  And 
the  saddest  point  of  all  is  that  they  have  no  deeper  percep- 
tion of  the  words  which  have  become  so  familiar  to  them 
than  at  the  first.  They  are  like  the  busy  crowds  which 
pass  hghtly  over  the  graves  of  martyrs,  obhterating  the 
sacred  inscriptions,  and  missing  the  deeper  thoughts  which 
crowd  in  on  the  historian  who  bends  over  them  in  reverent 
meditation. 

There  are  many  subjects  which  the  bulk  of  Christian 
people,  by  a  tacit  understanding,  refuse  to  enter.  Such 
are,  amongst  others,  the  Second  Advent ;  the  Restoration 
of  Israel,  and  its  future  mission  to  mankind;  the  great 
question  of  fulfilled  and  unfulfilled  prophecy ;  the  mystical 
union  of  Christ  with  those  who  believe  in  him.  In  all 
these  respects  there  is  much  land  to  be  possessed.  Well 
may  we  be  rebuked  by  the  example  of  the  Psalmist,  who 
took  days  and  nights  to  master  his  scanty  and  meager 
Bible !  We  have  much  to  learn  from  Nehemiah  and  many 
other  characters  in  Holy  Writ,  whose  prayers  and  songs 
are  Httle  else  than  chains  of  Scriptural  quotations.  Let  us 
mend  our  ways,  not  always  traverse  the  well-trodden  paths, 
but  seek  for  a  completer  acquaintance  with  the  entire  range 
of  truth  as  given  in  God's  Word. 

And  if  we  know  comparatively  little  of  the  Bible ^  we  know 
less  of  God.  Some  of  us  dwell  on  one  trait  of  his  character, 
in  complete  ignorance  of  others.  We  magnify  his  mercy 
at  the  expense  of  his  righteousness ;  or  his  justice  at  the 
cost  of  his  grace.     Our  knowledge  of  him,  moreover,  is 


SELF-ANALYSIS.  155 

borrowed  from  hearsay  evidence,  and  from  the  reports  of 
others.  We  do  not  hear  and  know  him  for  ourselves.  We 
are  not  content  to  know  at  second-hand  the  symphonies 
of  Beethoven  or  the  pictures  of  Murillo.  And  we  ought 
not  to  rest  content  till  we  can  say  with  the  patriarch,  "  I 
have  heard  of  thee  with  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now 
mine  eye  seeth  thee."  Oh  to  know  God,  to  follow  on  to 
know  him,  until  he  break  on  our  hearts  as  the  morning  or 
as  the  early  rain!  What  ecstasy  there  is  in  discovering 
new  traits  of  character,  new  beauties  in  our  friends,  as  we 
come  across  some  undreamed-of  excellence!  So  there 
would  be  a  new  meaning  in  life,  if  we  began  to  explore 
what  is  to  many  of  us  a  terra  incognita,  the  Being  of  God. 
There  is  much  land  here  to  be  possessed. 

II.  In  the  Direction  of  Christian  Attainment. — 
In  us,  as  in  Canaan  of  old,  there  are  the  seven  nations  of 
sin.  Hereditary  tendencies  to  evil ;  unholy  habits  that 
have  intrenched  and  fortified  themselves ;  worldly  compH- 
ances  which  have  become  part  of  our  existence.  When 
first  we  became  Christians  we  made  a  determined  onslaught 
on  these  things,  and  met  with  much  success ;  but  we  have 
become  wear)'  of  incessant  watchfulness  and  conflict.  We 
have  no  taste  for  the  girt  loin  and  the  erect,  alert,  soldier- 
attitude.  Our  heart  is  only  touched  here  and  there  by 
Christ ;  and  our  peace  is  incessantly  broken  by  the  raids 
of  those  unextirpated  evils,  which  swoop  down  from  time 
to  time,  carrying  everything  before  them.  There  is  much 
land  still  to  be  possessed. 

V^ould  it  not  be  well  to  enumerate  the  points  in  which 
we  are  deficient — not  in  a  spirit  of  morbid  self-scrutiny, 
but  of  honest  self- analysis?  Is  not  the  first  step  toward  an 
amended  life  a  clear  appreciation  of  what  needs  amending? 
We  may  well  turn  from  our  own  efforts  at  self-knowledge, 


156  LAND  TO  BE  POSSESSED. 

and  bare  our  hearts  to  the  inspection  of  the  Spirit  of  God ; 
asking  him  to  search  us  and  show  us  what  wicked  way  there 
is  in  us  ere  he  leads  us  in  the  way  everlasting. 

In  some  cases  it  is  the  business  Hfe,  the  workshop,  or  the 
counting-house,  which  is  not  possessed  by  Christ,  and  is 
kept  altogether  and  constantly  outside  the  range  of  his  in- 
fluence. In  other  cases  it  is  the  social  element,  or  the 
home-relationships  of  our  nature  which  are  not  brought 
into  captivity  to  him.  The  spirit  is  yielded,  but  not  the 
soul;  or  the  soul,  but  not  the  body.  We  accept  God's 
reign  over  the  principal  departments  of  oiu:  being;  but 
there  are  certain  outstanding  habits  over  which  we  are 
reluctant  to  admit  his  sway. 

Consider  how  great  is  God's  ideal  for  each  of  us.  To 
be  "  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son  " !  Scan  his  fair 
proportions ;  his  strength  and  sweetness ;  his  holiness  and 
pity ;  his  hatred  of  sin  and  love  to  the  sinner ;  his  devotion 
to  God ;  his  life  of  self-sacrifice  for  man.  Is  that  God's 
ideal?  And  does  he  predestinate  each  of  us  to  be  con- 
formed to  it?  Then  who  of  us  need  renounce  hope?  But 
ah,  how  much  there  is  to  be  possessed!  How  little  do  we 
possess  of  his  beauty  or  strength  or  tenderness  or  holiness! 

The  soul  is  first  possessed  by  Christ,  and  then  it  begins 
to  possess  Christ.  We  are  apprehended  by  our  divine 
Captor,  and  then  we  come  to  apprehend  him.  We  open 
our  hearts  to  receive  him  into  their  depths,  and  then  learn 
to  appropriate  him  by  a  living  faith.  In  other  words,  con- 
secration must  precede  appropriation.  But  when  once  the 
act  of  consecration  is  complete,  we  may  begin  to  possess 
him.  This  blessed  habit  may  be  initiated  in  a  single  act ; 
but  it  is  built  up  by  a  series  of  such  acts,  which  are  main- 
tained, through  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  till  it  becomes 
as  natural  for  us  to  look  up  to  Jesus  and  to  claim  whatever 
we  need  as  to  breathe.    Ah,  soul!  why  pine  in  poverty 


THE   GIFTS   OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  157 

and  starvation?  Is  it  not  because  thou  hast  withheld  thy- 
self from  Jesus?  Arise,  and  yield  thyself  to  him!  Let 
him  possess  thee;  and  then  do  thou  claim  a  reciprocal 
possession  of  thy  Lord.  Thus  shalt  thou  begin  to  enter 
upon  thine  eternal  inheritance,  and  commence  to  expend 
thyself  on  pursuits  that  shall  engage  thee  when  sun  and 
moon  are  no  more. 

III.  In  the  Direction  of  the  Gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. — "  To  each  one  of  us  is  given  grace  according  to 
the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ."  And  the  context  clearly 
shows  that  this  is  not  the  common  grace  needed  for  daily 
Hving ;  but  the  special  gifts  of  grace  of  the  Pentecostal  full- 
ness of  the  Holy  Ghost,  acquired  for  us  by  the  ascended 
Lord.  If  we  understand  the  teaching  of  the  Epistles 
aright,  there  is  for  each  member  of  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ  a  distinct  share  in  the  Pentecostal  gift.  We  may 
describe  it  as  a  share  in  his  baptism  or  in  his  fullness. 
This  is  immaterial.  But  there  is  surely  something  more 
than  is  ordinarily  understood  by  regeneration,  or  the  gift 
of  faith,  or  the  revelation  of  the  living  Saviour.  There  is 
a  power,  an  overflowing  love,  an  assurance,  an  exuberant 
joy,  a  freedom,  which  are  not  enjoyed  by  all  Christians, 
but  which  are  as  evidently  their  birthright  as  they  are  to 
be  desired. 

And,  in  addition,  there  are  the  bestowments  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  by  which  we  are  specially  qualified  to  do  Christ's 
work  in  the  world.  Tact  in  leadership ;  wisdom  to  win 
souls ;  power  to  help  believers  into  a  fuller  hfe ;  utility  to 
administer,  or  to  speak,  or  to  teach ;  sympathy,  facility  in 
utterance,  power  in  prayer.  These  may  be  named  amongst 
others.  The  whole  continent  of  Pentecostal  blessing  is 
avoided  by  many  believers  as  if  it  were  full  of  swamps,  of 
fever,  noisome  pestilence ;  it  stands  upon  their  globes  as 


158  L^ND   TO  BE  POSSESSED. 

Africa  did  in  the  days  of  our  childhood.     There  is  surely 
in  this  direction  much  land  to  be  possessed. 

But  oh,  let  us  not  be  content  simply  to  know  our  failures 
and  deficiencies!  Let  us  arise  and  quit  oiu"selves  like 
men.  Let  us  ask  our  heavenly  Joshua  to  settle  us  in  this 
good  land ;  so  that  there  may  be  no  rill  or  valley  or  mount- 
ain or  tract  of  territory  unpossessed.  God  has  given  us 
in  Christ  all  things  which  pertain  unto  life  and  godhness ; 
let  us  claim  the  whole  of  our  inheritance  by  a  living  faith, 
so  that  we  may  enter  on  the  enjoyment  of  all  that  is  possi- 
ble for  us  on  this  side  of  heaven. 


XVII. 

^  beteran  (Eomxdbc. 

(Joshua  xiv.) 

**  Simple  lives,  complete  and  without  flaw  .  .  , 
Who  said  not  to  the  Lord  as  if  afraid, 
'Here  is  thy  talent  in  a  napkin  laid,' 
But  labored  in  their  sphere,  as  those  who  live 
In  the  delight  that  work  alone  can  give." 

Longfellow. 

IT  was  in  Gilgal  that  the  apportionment  of  Canaan  took 
place.  There,  where  the  reproach  of  Egypt  had  been 
rolled  away,  and  where  the  main  camp  had  stood — gathered 
around  the  Tabernacle  during  the  years  that  the  warriors 
had  been  afar  from  wives  and  children,  fighting  the  battles 
of  Jehovah — it  was  fit  that  the  rewards  of  victory  should 
be  meted  out.  It  was  a  great  epoch  in  Israelite  story,  as 
the  tribes  assembled  around  their  veteran  leader,  before 
whom  and  Eleazar  stood  the  urns,  the  one  containing  the 
name  of  each,  and  the  other  the  name  of  some  specified 
portion  of  that  fau"  land,  which  lay  all  around,  smiHng 
from  hills  and  vales  to  the  blue  heaven  above. 

Judah,  first  in  war  and  march,  was  the  first  to  draw  nigh. 
It  was  a  great  people,  and  was  destined  yet  to  play  a 
greater  part  in  the  history  of  Israel  and  of  mankind.  But 
an  incident  intercepted  the  casting  of  the  lot  which  calls 
for  earnest  heed ;  for,  after  all,  our  religious  life  is  a  thing 
for  ourselves,  and  we  learn  more  from  the  act  and  word  of 

159 


i6o  A   VETERAN  COMRADE. 

individuals  than  from  the  movement  of  a  tribe.  Stand 
still,  then,  O  Christian  soul,  and  see  some  counterpart  of 
thyself  in  thy  best  moments,  in  this  demand  of  the  gray- 
headed  warrior,  this  Hon's  whelp,  for  that  is  the  underlying 
thought  in  the  name  "  Caleb."  Strong,  bold,  heroic,  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  the  lion  in  him  beside  his  name.  He 
had  been  the  young  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  some  fifty 
years  before ;  but  he  was  as  strong  as  he  stepped  out  of 
the  ranks  of  Judah  to  claim  his  right  as  he  was  when  Moses 
sent  him  to  spy  out  the  land. 

I.  The  Prime  Characteristic  of  Caleb's  Early 
Life  had  been  his  Entire  Devotion  to  God. — Repeat- 
edly we  are  told  both  of  him  and  Joshua  that  they  "  wholly 
followed  the  Lord."  And  there  was  some  trace  of  this  in 
the  words  of  the  old  man,  as  he  addressed  the  comrade  of 
many  a  hard-fought  fight,  of  many  a  weary  march.  The 
rest  of  the  spies  had  turned  aside,  dismayed  by  the  specta- 
cle of  giants  and  walled-up  cities  and  vast  battle  array. 
They  had  ceased  to  keep  the  eye  steadfastly  fixed  on  the 
movements  of  God's  will,  and  on  the  might  of  his  hand ; 
and  instead  of  following  hard  after  him,  they  had  yielded 
to  panic,  and  made  the  hearts  of  the  people  melt. 

But  there  had  been  no  panic  in  the  heart  of  Caleb.  He 
had  only  been  considering  that,  when  God  dehghts  in  men, 
he  brings  them  into  the  land  of  milk  and  honey,  and 
makes  it  theirs  by  deed  of  gift.  And  as  he  thought  in  his 
heart,  so  he  spake  with  his  mouth.  In  his  rough  soldier's 
phrase  he  even  dared  to  boast  that  the  Canaanites  were 
but  bread  waiting  to  be  eaten  by  the  hosts  of  Israel.  And 
then  in  more  thoughtful  fashion  he  spoke  of  the  shadow  of 
God's  protection  as  having  passed  from  over  the  land,  as 
if  he  had  the  consciousness  of  it  being  God-deserted. 

He  followed  God  wholly  through  the  weary  years  that 


HE  "IVHOLLY  FOLLOIVED   THE  LORD."         i6i 

ensued.  Amid  the  marchings  and  counter-marchings,  the 
innumerable  deaths,  the  murmurings  and  rebelHons  of  the 
people,  he  retained  a  steadfast  purpose  to  do  only  God's 
will,  to  please  him,  to  know  no  other  leader,  and  to  heed 
no  other  voice.  It  was  of  no  use  to  try  and  involve  that 
stout  lion's  cub  in  any  movement  against  Moses  and  Aaron. 
He  would  be  no  party  to  Miriam's  jealous  spite.  He 
would  not  be  allured  by  the  wiles  of  the  girls  of  Moab. 
Always  strong  and  true  and  pure  and  noble ;  Uke  a  rock 
in  a  changeful  sea,  like  a  snow-capped  peak  in  a  change  of 
cloud  and  storm  and  sun,  A  man  in  whose  strong  nature 
weaker  men  could  hide,  and  who  must  have  been  a  tower 
of  strength  to  that  new  and  young  generation  which  grew 
up  to  fill  the  vacant  places  in  the  van  of  Israel.  The 
Nestor  of  the  Hebrew  camp,  in  him  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist  were  anticipated,  that  he  bore  fruit  in  old  age,  and 
to  the  last  was  fat  and  flourishing. 

And  two  things  lit  the  path  of  this  Greatheart,  'mid  the 
gloom  of  the  wanderings  and  the  chaos  of  the  conquest. 
There  was,  first,  the  consciousness  that  lay  upon  his  heart, 
like  sunshine  on  a  summer  ocean,  that  God  delighted  in 
him ;  that  the  outgoings  of  God's  nature  toward  him  were 
full  of  love  and  joy ;  and  that  the  peace  of  God  that  pass- 
eth  all  understanding  might  be  his  inalienable  possession. 
Walking  in  the  light,  as  God  was  in  the  light,  he  had  fel- 
lowship with  God ;  and  he  bore  with  him  the  rest  of  the 
divine  nature  long  before  he  entered  into  its  transitory 
type  in  the  Land  of  Promise. 

There  was,  next,  the  thought  of  Hebron.  Forty-five 
years  had  passed  since  he  had  seen  the  white  buildings  of 
that  ancient  and  holy  city  nestling  beneath  its  terebinths. 
Probably  he  had  only  dwelt  there  for  a  single  hour  or  two, 
whilst  his  comrades  were  bartering  for  pomegranates  and 
oranges  and  the  rich  produce  of  its  vales  and  hills  j  but 


1 62  A   VETERAN  COMRADE. 

it  left  an  ineffaceable  impression  upon  his  heart.  He  had 
seen  the  Vale  of  Eshcol  where  they  cut  down  the  bunch 
of  grapes ;  but  it  had  no  attractions  to  him  beside  the  city 
on  which  he  had  fixed  his  desire.  He  had  beheld  Jerusa- 
lem, beautiful  for  situation  and  girdled  by  its  mountains ; 
but  to  his  lover's  eye  it  had  no  glory  by  reason  of  that 
greater  glory  that  excelled.  And  even  the  Plain  of  Esdra- 
elon,  watered  by  the  Kishon  brook,  could  not  steal  away 
his  fond  attachment  to  Hebron.  Hebron,  beneath  whose 
oaks  Abraham  had  pitched  his  tent ;  Hebron,  whose  soil 
had  been  trodden  by  the  feet  of  the  Incarnate  God,  as  with 
two  angel  attendants  he  visited  the  tent  of  Abraham; 
Hebron,  where  Sarah  and  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Rebekah, 
Jacob  and  Leah,  lay  buried ;  each  in  a  Httle  niche,  holding 
the  land  in  trust,  as  the  graves  of  the  dead  always  hold  the 
land  for  the  living,  until  the  promise  of  God  was  realized, 
and  the  seed  of  Abraham  could  return  to  claim  its  heritage. 
God  had  read  his  secret,  and  had  arranged  that  what 
his  heart  loved  best  his  hand  should  take,  and  hold,  and 
keep.  It  was  one  of  the  things  which  God  had  himself 
prepared  for  those  who  love  him.  He  had  taught  him 
to  love  it,  and  immediately  on  his  return  to  the  camp  the 
divine  order  was  promulgated,  "  My  servant  Caleb,  because 
he  hath  another  spirit  with  him,  and  hath  followed  me  fully, 
him  I  will  bring  into  the  land  whereinto  he  went,  and  his 
seed  shall  possess  it."  That  promise  fell  into  his  heart  as 
water  on  a  thirsty  soil,  or  like  a  lover's  last  word  cherished 
through  long  years.  Often,  as  he  lay  down  to  sleep  beside 
the  camp  fire,  his  last  thought  would  be  of  Hebron ;  and 
amid  the  noontide  haze,  when  the  mirage  gleamed  on  the 
horizon,  it  would  sometimes  seem  to  him  as  if  the  green 
hills  of  Hebron  were  beckoning  him  across  the  waste. 
What  though  his  comrades  were  carried  out  to  die  day 
after  day — ^plague  could  not  touch  him ;  pestilence  could 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  FAITH.  163 

not  harm  him ;  and  death  itself  must  drop  the  point  of  its 
spear  when  it  came  near  his  heart. 

We  have  trace  of  the  attitude  of  Caleb's  heart  through 
those  long  years  in  the  words  he  spake  at  this  memorable 
juncture,  when  he  said :  "  Behold,  the  Lord  hath  kept  me 
ahve,  as  He  said.  .  .  .  Now  therefore  give  me  this  mount- 
ain, whereof  the  Lord  spake  in  that  day ;  ...  as  the  Lord 
said."  The  promise  of  God  was  his  stay  and  comfort  and 
exceeding  great  reward.  He  had  to  wait  for  its  fulfillment, 
and  it  seemed  long ;  as  waiting  times  always  do,  especially 
when  man  waits  for  God.  But  God  was  working  for  him 
whilst  he  was  waiting  (Isa.  Ixiv.  4,  R.V.). 

II.  Such  Devotion  as  Caleb's  has  Marvelous 
Results. — ( i )  //  is  the  soil  from  which  such  a  Faith  springs 
CLs  can  claim  the  realization  of  Promise. — "  Now  therefore 
give  me  this  moimtain,  whereof  the  Lord  spake  in  that 
day."  No  common  faith  was  needed  to  make  so  large  a 
claim.  Think  of  the  time  that  had  elapsed!  Think  of  the 
greatness  of  the  bequest,  such  a  possession!  Think  of 
the  Anakim  that  held  it  in  their  giant  hands!  But  faith 
triumphed ;  and  if  the  words,  **  It  may  be,"  come  into  his 
speech,  words  with  a  falter  in  them,  the  tremor,  as  it  were, 
of  fear,  we  must  understand  that  they  did  not  spring  from 
any  doubt  of  God ;  but  of  that  mistrust  of  self  which  is  a 
trait  in  all  moral  greatness.  No  man  of  noblest  mold  is 
ever  self-confident.  Whilst  he  reckons  infinitely  on  God, 
he  always  answers  the  charge  of  impending  treachery  with 
the  whisper,  ''  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  " 

The  weakness  of  your  faith  is  due,  not  to  any  inherent 
incapacity  for  faith,  but  because  you  have  not  yet  learned 
the  meaning  of  the  words,  "  He  wholly  followed  the  Lord 
his  God."  There  is  waiting  for  you  an  inheritance — some 
promised  Hebron,  some  blessed  gift  of  God's  infinite  love 


i64  A   VETERA}^  COMRADE. 

in  Christ.  It  is  for  you  to  say,  with  the  faith  of  a  Caleb, 
"  Give  me  this  mountain." 

(2)  //  leads  to  Fellowship. — Hebron  stands  for  friendship, 
fellowship,  love.  The  old  word  means  that ;  and  perhaps 
that  is  why  Caleb  was  so  eager  to  strike  out  the  recent 
giants'  name  of  Kirjath-arba,  and  to  bring  back  the  word 
that  Abraham  had  often  had  upon  his  lips.  It  spoke  to 
him  of  that  communion  with  his  unseen  Friend  that  he  had 
enjoyed  through  the  wanderings  and  vicissitudes  of  his 
long  hfe,  and  which  was  not  to  end  now ;  because  in  the 
seclusion  of  his  estate,  beneath  the  shadow  of  his  own  vine 
and  fig  tree,  he  would  speak  with  him  as  a  man  with  his 
friend,  and  anticipate  the  experiences  of  Nathanael  in  the 
days  when  the  Gospel  walked  incarnate  on  our  earth. 

So  is  it  ever.  You  must  give  yourself  away  to  God,  and 
follow  him,  as  the  novice  in  Alpine  climbing  does  his 
guide ;  or  you  will  never  be  able  to  Hve  in  the  Hebron 
where  God  gives  himself  to  the  soul  in  passages  of  love 
which  it  is  not  lawful  for  man  to  utter,  ''  If  any  man  love 
me,  he  will  keep  my  word ;  and  my  Father  will  love  him, 
and  we  will  come  to  him  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 
The  world  wants  love.  It  is  full  of  tired  faces,  and  aching 
limbs,  and  breaking  hearts.  Only  through  man  does  the 
love  of  God  come  to  men.  This  is  the  reason  that  the 
Word  became  flesh,  so  that  God  might  be  able  to  pour  the 
full  exuberance  of  his  love  not  only  over  them,  as  in  sun- 
shine and  fruitful  seasons,  but  into  them.  And  now  re- 
deemed men  who  are  one  with  the  divine  Man  must 
through  him  become  the  channels  by  which  that  blessed 
love  may  flow.  But  if  any  of  us  aspire  to  this,  he  must 
take  up  his  abode  in  Hebron,  to  leave  it  never.  His 
must  be  its  balmy  air,  its  terraced  slopes,  its  sunny  warmth. 
Like  the  beloved  apostle — whose  first  epistle  might  fairly 
have  been  dated  from  the  sweet  calm  of  Hebron  rather 


CONSECRATION   THE  SOURCE  OF  STRENGTH,    165 

than  from  the  strife  of  the  heathen  Ephesus — we  must  Hve 
in  the  love  of  God.  His  love  must  dwell  unhindered  in 
us.  But  the  only  gateway  into  such  an  experience  is  the 
obedience  that  counts  not  cost,  and  makes  no  exceptions, 
but  follows  fully  its  highest  convictions  of  the  will  and  law 
of  God. 

Those  who  follow  God  know  God.  He  turns  and  sees 
them  following,  and  hears  their  inquiry  to  know  his  secret 
place,  and  bids  them  "come  and  see,"  Oh,  bliss  of  bliss! 
They  tarry  with  him  in  such  friendship  as  Moses  had  on 
the  Mount.  Their  hearts  bum  and  glow  as  the  hours  pass 
unheeded,  uncounted,  by.  They  come  forth  with  the  hght 
of  love  transfiguring  their  faces,  and  making  their  common 
dress  shine  with  lustrous  beauty,  as  though  they,  too,  had 
made  light  their  vesture. 

(3)  If  leads  to  Strength. — "  Lo,"  said  Caleb.  "  I  am  this 
day  fourscore  and  five  years  old.  As  yet  I  am  as  strong 
this  day  as  I  was  in  the  day  that  Moses  sent  me ;  as  my 
strength  was  then,  even  so  is  my  strength  now  for  war, 
both  to  go  out  and  to  come  in."  Consecration  is  the  source 
of  undecaying  strength ;  because  it  allows  the  soul  to  draw 
on  the  strength  of  God.  Just  as  the  sap  flows  through 
the  tender  vine  branches  in  spring,  so  does  the  strength 
of  God  pass  into  those  that  beheve;  who  are  not  only 
united  to  him,  but  fully  surrendered  and  given  up  to  his 
indwelling. 

It  is  this  point  that  Isaiah  emphasizes  in  his  sublime 
contrast  between  the  respective  strength  of  youth  and  of 
those  that  wait  on  Jehovah.  He  says  that  under  circum- 
stances that  sap  the  vigor  of  early  manhood,  so  that 
youths  faint  and  are  weary,  and  young  men  utterly  fail, 
those  '*  that  wait  on  the  Lord  renew  their  strength.  They 
mount  up  .  .  .  they  run  .  .  .  they  walk."  It  is  the 
last  of  these  that  is  so  difficult.     It  is  not  so  difficult  to 


i66  A   VETERAN  COMRADE. 

soar.  When  the  day  is  young,  and  the  deep  blue  heavens 
tempt  the  exploring  wing,  and  the  breeze  is  soft,  it  is  hard 
to  linger  by  the  few  twigs  on  the  top  of  the  bare  rocks. 
It  is  not  very  difficult  to  run.  When  the  sunbeams  are 
still  aslant,  and  the  dew  has  not  left  the  grass,  and  the  dust 
is  not  stirred,  there  is  a  feeling  of  exhilaration  which  com- 
pels us  to  substitute  our  quickest  pace  for  the  more  sedate 
walk.  But  to  walk  I  To  go  forward  in  the  sultry  heat ! 
To  have  patience,  and  bear  for  his  name's  sake,  and  not 
grow  weary  !  To  resist  the  temptation  to  lethargy  and 
indolence  and  luxurious  ease!  This  is  the  greatest  task 
of  all !  But  for  this,  which  had  been  Caleb's  experience 
for  forty-five  years  of  desert  wandering,  no  human  energy 
can  suffice.  The  soul  must  learn  to  take  the  power  which 
God  gives  to  the  faint ;  and  to  receive  the  strength  he  in- 
creases to  such  as  have  no  might. 

But  this  strength  is  accessible  only  through  obedience. 
God  cannot  and  will  not  bestow  it  except  where  there  is 
a  thoughtful  and  dehberate  purpose  to  do  his  will,  to  follow 
his  path,  and  to  execute  his  work.  But  if  you  are  set  on 
this,  then  adequate  strength  for  body  and  soul,  mind  and 
heart,  will  and  spirit,  shall  most  certainly  be  forthcoming. 
The  outward  man  may  decay ;  but  the  inward  man  will  be 
renewed  day  by  day. 

(4)  //  gives  Victory, — Of  all  the  Israelites  that  received 
their  inheritance  in  the  Land  of  Promise,  Caleb  appears 
to  have  been  the  only  one  who  succeeded  in  perfectly 
expeUing  the  native  occupiers  of  the  country.  The  Israel- 
ites generally  seem  to  have  made  but  poor  headway  against 
their  strong  and  mighty  foes,  with  their  chariots  of  iron 
and  fenced  walls.  Repeatedly  we  encounter  the  sorrowful 
affirmation,  they  were  not  able  to  drive  them  out.  But  Caleb 
was  a  notable  exception.  What  though  Arba  was  the 
greatest  man  among  the  Anakim!     (Josh.  xiv.  15.)     What 


''THE   UPPER  AND    THE  NETHER  SPRINGS."     167 

though  his  three  grandsons,  Sheshai  and  Ahiman  and  Tal- 
mai,  the  sons  of  Anak,  were  prepared  to  yield  their  Hves 
rather  than  give  up  possession !  (xv.  14.)  Yet  Caleb  drove 
them  out — not  he  indeed,  but  the  Lord,  who  was  with  him, 
and  gave  him  a  victory  that  must  have  otherwise  eluded 
even  his  strong  hands.  The  man  who  wholly  followed 
the  Lord  was  alone  wholly  victorious. 

How  precious  and  searching  is  the  conclusion!  Our 
failures  in  expelling  the  giants  of  the  heart,  in  dealing  with 
inbred  corruption  and  the  assaults  of  Satan,  are  almost 
entirely  due  to  some  failure  in  consecration.  We  have  not 
wholly  followed  the  Lord.  There  has  been  some  secret 
flaw,  some  leakage,  some  draining  away  of  strength.  This 
must  be  put  right  before  the  other  can  be  secured.  But 
when,  so  far  as  we  know,  we  are  entirely  yielded  to  God, 
then  no  sin  can  stand  before  us,  because  nothing  can  stand 
before  him.  We  humbly  and  trustfully  put  the  matter  into 
his  hands,  and  believe  that  he  will  go  forth  against  our  foes 
in  the  chariots  of  salvation. 

(5)  If  enables  us  to  give  blessings  to  others. — ^Twice  we 
are  told  how  Achsah — who  was  such  a  prize,  as  well  to 
repay  Othniel  for  his  risk  of  Hfe  in  taking  Debir,  the  city 
of  the  books — lighted  down  from  her  ass  to  ask  a  blessing 
from  her  father's  hands.  As  dowry  he  had  given  her  a 
field  that  lay  toward  the  south,  but  which  was  destitute  of 
springs.  To  water  it  entailed  the  conducting  of  irrigating 
streams  from  a  distance.  The  newly  married  pair  talked 
over  the  matter  between  themselves,  and  felt  how  desirable 
it  was  to  be  possessed  of  springs ;  and  as  Othniel  shrank 
from  asking,  she  took  it  on  herself  to  obtain  the  boon  from 
Caleb.  "  Give  me  also  springs  of  water.  And  he  gave 
her  the  upper  and  the  nether  springs," 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  the  Apostle  speaks  of 
men  who  supplied  or  ministered  the  Spirit  to  them  (iii.  5). 


1 68  A   VETERAN  COMRADE. 

It  is  a  remarkable  expression,  as  though  through  the  "  hear- 
ing of  faith"  men  were  able  to  become  channels  through 
which  the  Spirit  was  supplied  to  others.  What  a  marvelous 
power!  Is  this  the  spiritual  reality  of  which  the  laying  on 
of  hands  was  the  sacrament  and  sign?  May  we  say  that 
even  now  there  is  a  spiritual  contact  with  men  and  women 
who  are  living  in  the  Hebron  of  fellowship,  through  which 
the  upper  and  nether  springs  of  spiritual  grace  are  com- 
municated ? 

Follow  the  Lord  fully :  so  will  you  dwell  in  the  land ;  so 
will  your  heart  become  as  a  watered  garden,  and  a  spring 
of  water  that  does  not  fail ;  so  will  you  be  able  to  obtain 
promises,  not  for  yourself  only,  but  for  others ;  so  shall 
rivers  of  Hving  water  flow  through  you,  and  those  who 
know  you  best ;  the  Othniels  and  Achsahs  of  your  home 
circle  will  gather  round  you  to  ask  a  blessing,  and  you 
shall  have  power  to  open  springs  of  spiritual  blessing  in 
the  heights  of  the  heavenly  places,  and  in  the  depths  of 
daily  practical  ministry,  in  the  valley  of  human  life. 


XVIIL 
EemtJing  arib  H^igning. 

(Romans  v.  17.) 

**  Each  holy  purpose  help  us  to  fulfill! 
Increase  our  faith  to  feed  upon  thee  still! 
Illuminate  our  minds,  that  we  may  see 
All  around  us  holy  signs  of  thee. 
And  may  such  witness  in  our  lives  appear, 
That  all  may  know  thou  hast  been  with  us  here!" 

Bourne. 

THE  allotment  of  Canaan,  which  was  inaugurated  be- 
neath  the  direction  of  Joshua  and  Eleazar  in  Gilgal, 
and  had  been  temporarily  arrested  by  the  claim  of  Caleb, 
now  proceeded.  And,  in  the  first  instance,  the  three  great 
tribes  of  Judah,  Ephraim,  and  Manasseh  received  their 
inheritance.  Half  the  tribe  of  Manasseh  had  already  re- 
ceived its  lot,  given  by  Moses  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
Jordan.  And  therefore  the  descendants  of  Joseph,  in  the 
first  instance,  received  but  one  lot,  and  cities  were  separated 
for  the  children  of  Ephraim  in  the  midst  of  the  inheritance 
of  the  children  of  Manasseh  (Josh.  xvi.  9 ;  xvii.  14). 

The  limits  of  these  great  tribes  are  carefully  mentioned. 
That  of  Judah  in  the  fifteenth  chapter,  even  to  its  utter- 
most cities.  That  of  the  children  of  Joseph  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth.  From  this  we  may  infer  that  there  is  a 
specific  share  in  the  gifts  of  the  Ascended  Saviour  for  each 
of  us ;  just  as  there  is  a  specific  work  to  be  done  by  each 

169 


lyo  RECEIVING  AND  REIGNING. 

in  the  building  of  the  Church  and  the  ingathering  of  men. 
*'  Unto  every  one  of  us  is  given  grace,  according  to  the 
measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ "  (Eph.  iv.  7).  And  again,  to 
each  one  is  given  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  to  profit 
withal.  That  there  should  be  diversities  of  gifts  and 
workings  and  ministrations  is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
This  is  in  harmony  with  the  constitution  of  the  human 
mind,  which  in  no  two  persons  is  alike.  But  though  the 
talents  assigned  to  each  vary  in  the  same  way  that  natural 
ability  does,  yet  no  one  of  the  King's  servants  is  left  with- 
out some  precious  deposit.  All  have  not  five  talents ;  but 
each  has  one.  For  each  there  is  a  piece  of  wall-building, 
a  comer  in  the  vineyard,  a  place  in  the  ranks  of  temple- 
service  ;  and  for  each  there  is  a  store  of  special  grace  and 
gift,  won  by  the  risen  Lord,  and  awaiting  bestowment  from 
his  hands. 

Concerning  each  of  these  tribes,  there  is  made  the  same 
melancholy  confession  which  is  heard  repeatedly  in  this 
and  the  following  book,  like  the  monotonous  note  of  a 
storm-bell  rung  by  the  wild  waves  on  a  dangerous  coast: 
"  They  could  not  drive  them  out."  "  But  the  Canaanites 
would  dwell  in  that  land  "  (xvii.  12). 

Mark  the  strength  of  that  word  would.  It  was  no  ex- 
pression for  those  Canaanites  to  use.  They  were  a  dispos- 
sessed race.  They  had  neither  part  nor  lot  in  Canaan; 
and  Israel  made  a  profound  mistake  in  allowing  them  to 
remain  in  the  face  of  God's  great  word,  "  I  will  drive  them 
out  from  before  the  children  of  Israel " — yet  let  us  not  con- 
demn them,  lest  we  condemn  ourselves.  There  is  not  the 
least  reason  why  besetting  sin  or  fleshly  lusts  should  hold 
their  own,  or  find  any  foothold  in  the  region  of  the  saved 
nature.  Never  allow  them  to  say  they  must  or  they  will. 
Granted  that  they  would  be  able  to  keep  us  at  bay,  they 
have  no  weight  in  the  presence  of  that  Omnipotence  which 


THE  ACREAGE  IVITHIN  REACH.  171 

vanquished  them  on  the  cross,  and  is  pledged  to  destroy 
them  utterly. 

The  presence  of  the  Canaanites  led  to  an  altercation  be- 
tween the  children  of  Joseph  and  Joshua.  "  Why  hast 
thou  given  me  but  one  lot  and  one  part  for  an  inheritance, 
seeing  I  am  a  great  people?  "  Like  so  many  more,  they 
were  content  to  live  on  the  strength  of  past  tradition,  upon 
their  numbers  and  prestige ;  and  to  base  upon  these  con- 
siderations, claims  which  they  were  too  indolent  to  make 
good  by  deeds. 

"  If  you  are  a  great  people,"  Joshua  replied,  "  there  is 
plenty  of  unoccupied  territory  within  the  limits  of  yom:  in- 
heritance. Forest  land  perhaps !  There  fell  trees,  extract 
the  stumps,  and  grow  crops  upon  the  rich  and  verdant 
soil  fertilized  by  the  leaves  of  many  autumns."  How  often 
we  ask  God  for  wider  spheres  of  usefulness,  whilst  we  fail 
to  utihze  those  which  lie  within  our  reach.  "  Cut  down 
wood,"  is  an  injunction  which  might  very  fairly  apply  to  us 
all.  Do  not  sigh  for  missionary  service  till  you  have 
covered  the  whole  acreage  within  your  reach — in  the  home 
circle,  or  amongst  the  children  of  some  poor  district.  The 
wood  may  be  thick,  but  the  ax  of  persevering  faith  will 
make  a  clearing  there. 

"  The  hill  country,"  persisted  they,  "  is  not  sufficient,  and 
the  valley  is  filled  by  Canaanites  with  their  iron  chariots ; 
give  us  more." 

**  No,"  said  Joshua ;  "  you  have  power  enough  to  cut 
down  the  wood,  and  to  drive  out  the  Canaanites — use  it." 
For  all  the  territory  which  we  should  win  for  God  we 
have  sufficient  power,  if  we  would  but  use  it ;  there  is  no 
work  so  hard,  no  temptation  so  mighty,  no  post  so  difficult, 
but  there  is  also  sufficient  grace  contained  within  the  one 
great  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  meet  our  every  requirement. 
Perhaps  the  best  path  to  the  speedy  acquisition  of  spiritual 


172  RECEIVING  AND  REIGNING. 

power,  for  the  majority  of  those  who  shall  read  these  lines, 
would  be  to  claim  and  use  the  abundance  of  grace  which 
is  within  their  reach  awaiting  them  in  the  hving  Saviour. 

This  brings  us  out  upon  the  text  that  stands  at  the  head 
of  this  chapter,  which  lies  in  one  of  the  most  rocky  and 
precipitous  portions  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  like  a 
tiny  lakelet  on  the  bosom  of  gaunt  and  rugged  cliffs. 

In  those  words  three  things  are  patent : 

I.  The  Differences  which  Obtain  between  Chris- 
tians.— Some  exist;  others  live;  others  again  reign  in 
life.  Some  have  life,  others  have  it  "  more  abundantly." 
With  some  the  spark  of  eternal  life  bums  dimly,  shrouded 
by  dense  wreaths  of  smoke ;  with  others — would  that  it 
might  be  with  thee  and  me,  reader! — the  hght  burns  and 
shines  clear,  fervent,  brilhant.  To  reign  in  Hfe  is  to  realize 
the  conception  of  being  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  a  royal 
generation,  a  chosen  people.  The  conception  includes  no- 
bihty  of  demeanor,  such  as  becomes  the  scion  of  a  line  of 
kings;  munificence,  as  when  a  prince  scatters  his  largess 
among  the  crowd ;  and  victory,  as  becomes  the  monarch 
who  has  trod  his  enemies  beneath  his  feet,  chmbing  to  his 
throne. 

What  do  you  know  of  these?  Would  you  dare  assert 
that  there  is  aught  in  your  days  to  make  men  think  that 
you  reign  in  Hfe  ?  Do  the  keys  hang  at  your  girdle  ?  Do 
unholy  desires  bite  the  dust  in  your  presence?  Is  there 
nobihty  in  your  mien?  Is  there  a  consciousness  amongst 
others  that  your  religion  is  not  only  barely  sufficient  for 
your  own  needs,  but  that  the  grace  of  God  has  so  abounded 
toward  you  that  you  in  turn  can  abound  to  every  good 
work?     If  not,  you  have  yet  to  learn  what  it  is  to  reign  in 


ABUNDANCE  OF  GRACE.  i73 

II.  The  Cause  of  this  Difference. — It  does  not 
arise,  thank  God,  from  any  arbitrary  allotment  on  his  part 
of  more  or  less  grace.  "  There  are  diversities  of  gifts  " ; 
but  his  grace  is  like  the  wild  flowers  on  the  common,  or  the 
beauty  that  lies  as  a  bloom  upon  nature,  or  the  water  which 
he  brews  amongst  the  hills — all  of  which  are  free  in  their 
unrestrained  abundance  to  every  child  of  the  family  of  man. 
Not  only  so ;  but  for  each  one  of  us  there  is  an  abundance 
of  grace  within  our  reach.  God  is  very  frugal ;  there  is 
no  waste  in  creation.  What  seems  superfluous  in  one  di- 
rection is  eagerly  wrought  up  into  fresh  and  necessary  fab- 
rics by  armies  of  mysterious  and  insignificant  workers.  But 
just  because  of  this,  he  is  able  to  give  abundantly,  beyond 
all  we  ask  or  think,  without  stint ;  so  that  all  are  fed,  and 
baskets  are  filled  to  the  very  utmost  of  their  content.  In 
grace,  as  in  nature,  there  is  a  divine  prodigality,  beside  a 
divine  frugality.  God  makes  all  grace  abound  toward 
us.  His  love  passes  knowledge ;  his  joy  is  unspeakable ; 
his  peace  outstrips  our  understanding;  his  thoughts  we 
cannot  attain  unto. 

The  real  reason,  then,  that  so  many  fail  to  reign  in  life 
is  to  be  sought,  not  in  some  arbitrary  enactment  on  the  part 
of  God,  but  in  the  different  power  of  receptiveness  which 
obtains  amongst  his  children.  Some  fail  to  receive,  either 
because  they  have  not  learned  the  art,  or  because  they  have 
not  reached  that  position  in  Christian  experience  in  which 
they  can  avail  themselves  of  it.  See  where  the  Apostle 
lays  the  emphasis :  it  is  they  that  receive  the  abundance  of 
grace  who  reign.  The  difference  therefore  is  not  to  be 
found  on  the  divine  side,  but  on  the  human ;  not  in  the 
reservoir  where  the  gas  is  stored,  but  in  the  pipe  where  water 
stops  the  free  flow  to  the  jet. 

Great  saints  are  simply  great  receivers.     They  may  be 


174  RECEIVING  AND  REIGNING. 

deficient  in  culture,  education,  and  a  thoi^sand  things  which 
belong  to  others ;  but  they  have  learned  the  happy  art,  de- 
noted by  that  word  receive,  which  is  found  in  every  part  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  especially  in  connection  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  which  they  which  believe  on  Christ  were  to  re- 
ceive. We  can  never  forget  that  he  himself  constantly  con- 
nected that  word  with  the  Holy  Spirit ;  as  when  he  breathed 
on  his  disciples  and  said,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ! " 

Do  you  want  that  royalty  of  mien  ?  Receive  it.  Do 
you  want  that  munificence?  You  have  only  to  receive  it. 
Do  you  want  that  victory?  There  is  no  other  course  than 
to  receive  it.  In  a  word,  do  you  want  to  reign  in  Hfe? 
Then  you  must  receive  the  abundance  of  grace ;  and  the 
more  you  receive  of  it,  the  more  royal  will  hfe  become. 
What  though  the  hill  country  be  filled  with  wood,  and  the 
lowlands  infested  by  Canaanites !  — if  you  will  receive  and 
use  the  power  within  your  reach,  "no  weapon  that  is  formed 
against  you  shall  prosper ;  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise 
against  you  in  judgment  you  shall  condemn." 

III.  How  TO  Acquire  this  Sacred  Art. — It  is  dis- 
tinct from  praying.  Not,  indeed,  that  prayer  does  not 
enter  into  it ;  but  that  it  is  only  the  foundation  from  which 
the  soul  arises  into  the  secret  of  receiving.  None  can 
claim  but  those  who  pray ;  but  many  pray  who  do  not  go 
finther  to  receive.  "  Ask  and  receive,"  said  our  Lord,  else 
your  joy  will  not  be  full.  The  lack  of  joy  in  Christian 
hearts  may  often  be  traced  to  a  failure  to  discern  the  dif- 
ference between  the  prayer  which  is  only  supplication,  and 
that  which  takes  its  guerdon  from  the  outstretched  hand 
of  Jesus.  Too  often  our  prayers  seem  like  lost  vessels ; 
when,  in  point  of  fact,  they  have  come  to  the  quays  richly 
freighted,  but  we  have  not  been  there  to  claim  our  own. 


"j4SK,   and    ye  shall  RECEiyE.*'  175 

Perhaps  these  rules  may  assist  you  to  acquire  this  blessed 
art: — 

(a)  Be  sure  that  what  you  ask  is  according  to  the  mind 
of  God,  offered  in  some  promise  or  precept  of  Holy 
Scripture. 

(b)  Ask  for  it  simply  and  reverently.  Use  the  name  of 
Jesus ;  that  is,  stand  in  him,  and  plead  for  his  glory. 

(c)  Dare  to  believe  that  God  does  hear  and  answer  your 
prayer  altogether  apart  from  the  flow  of  emotion  or  the 
rapture  of  conscious  possession. 

{d)  Go  your  way  and  reckon  that  God  is  faithful. 
Count  on  him  as  bound  to  keep  his  troth. 

{e)  Act  as  you  would  if  you  had  all  the  consciousness 
and  enjoyment  possible. 

Thus  you  will  find  inevitably  that  the  mountain  shall  be- 
come a  plain ;  the  woods  shall  fade  into  pasture-lands ;  the 
Canaanites  shall  be  driven  before  you,  as  the  chaff  of  the 
threshing-floor  before  the  autumn  wind ;  and  nothing  shall 
be  impossible. 


XIX. 
QL\;)c  QLondmion  of  t^e  QLask, 

(Joshua  xviii.) 

**  All  which  is  real  now  remaineth, 
And  faileth  never ; 
The  hand  which  upholds  it  now,  sustaineth 
The  soul  forever." 

Whittier. 

THE  two  great  tribes  were  thus  at  last  settled — ^Judah, 
as  Dean  Stanley  suggests,  like  a  lion  to  guard  the 
south,  and  couch  in  the  fastness  of  Zion ;  whilst  Ephraim, 
like  the  more  peaceful  but  not  less  powerful  bullock,  was 
to  rove  the  rich  vales  of  central  Palestine,  and  defend  the 
frontier  of  the  north.  And  Joshua  was  able  to  turn  his  at- 
tention to  the  several  items  which  claim  a  passing  notice. 

I.  Joshua  Erected  the  Tabernacle  in  Shiloh. — 
During  the  march  through  the  wilderness,  when  the  camp 
was  pitched,  the  Tabernacle  occupied  the  center ;  around 
it  were  grouped  the  tents  of  the  priests  and  Levites,  whilst 
the  tribes  occupied  specified  places,  three  to  each  quarter 
of  the  compass.  An  attentive  comparison  of  those  posi- 
tions with  the  territories  allocated  to  them  in  the  Land  of 
Promise  will  reveal  a  striking  similarity.  It  was  as  though 
the  encampment  were,  in  its  main  features,  repeated  in 
their  final  settlement  in  the  land.  And  to  complete  the 
parallel,  the  Tabernacle  was  now  removed  from  Gilgal  and 

176 


THE   TABERNACLE  IN  SHILOH.  I^^ 

pitched  in  Shiloh,  which  lay  as  nearly  as  possible  at  the 
heart  of  Canaan. 

No  striking  landmarks  distinguish  this  ancient  site.  And, 
unlike  most  of  the  holy  places  of  the  world,  it  is  said  to 
be  almost  entirely  featureless.  Imagine  a  somewhat  wide 
plain,  surrounded  by  low  hills,  with  a  rocky  platform  toward 
its  northern  end.  This  was  the  chosen  site  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, after  its  long  wanderings,  erected  probably  on  that 
shght  plateau.  And  so  was  fulfilled  the  command  of  the 
great  lawgiver :  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  that  the  place 
which  the  Lord  your  God  shall  choose  to  cause  his  name  to 
dwell  there,  thither  shall  ye  bring  all  that  I  command  you." 

Here,  then,  in  the  center  of  the  land,  embosomed  in  the 
keeping  of  the  strongest  tribes,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
highway  that  led  from  Bethel  to  Shechem,  was  the  chosen 
spot  where  the  Tabernacle  of  God  was  among  men ;  and 
he  dwelt  with  them.  Oh  that  they  had  acted  as  his  people! 
— then  would  he  have  wiped  away  every  tear  from  their 
eyes ;  they  would  have  overcome,  and  have  inherited  all 
things. 

The  sacred  name,  Shiloh,  which  means  peace  or  rest, 
was  also  given  by  the  dying  patriarch  to  the  Messiah. 
Jesus  is  the  center  of  his  people.  Around  him  they  gather. 
Not  his  professing  Church,  not  a  synod  or  a  convocation, 
not  a  creed  or  a  ritual ;  but  the  Rest-giver  himself  is  the 
center  around  whom  the  people  gather.  He  is  both  head 
and  heart,  which  make  the  body  one.  Life  in  "  the  heav- 
enhes  "  must  have  its  center  in  the  risen  Saviour ;  and  just 
in  proportion  as  we  focus  in  him  shall  we  find  ourselves 
brought  into  loving  fellowship  with  all  who  love  him.  The 
altar  of  Ed,  which  was  afterward  reared  to  attest  and 
cement  the  unity  of  Israel,  was  a  poor  device,  which  would 
not  have  been  needed  if  the  people  had  observed  the  prac- 
tice of  thrice  a  year  gathering  at  God's  center,  Shiloh. 


178  THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  TASK. 

II.  Joshua  Rebuked  the  Inertness  of  the  People. 
— And  Joshua  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  "  How  long 
are  ye  slack  to  go  in  to  possess  the  land,  which  the  Lord 
God  of  your  fathers  hath  given  you  ? "  (xviii.  3).  Forth- 
with the  twenty-one  commissioners  arose  to  walk  through 
the  land,  surveying  it.  They  embodied  the  results  in  a 
book,  in  which  the  land  was  described  by  cities  in  seven 
portions.  This  they  brought  to  Joshua.  It  may  be  that 
the  account  of  what  they  had  seen  was  the  means  under 
God  of  arousing  the  people  from  the  apathy  into  which 
they  had  sunk. 

In  our  own  time  the  Spirit  of  God  has  been  sending  out 
many  commissioners  to  pass  through  and  describe  the  good 
land  into  which  the  heavenly  Joshua  would  fain  lead  his 
people.  A  good  many  books  have  resulted  from  their  in- 
vestigations, which  have  mightily  stirred  the  hearts  of  God's 
people,  so  that  in  great  numbers  they  have  gone  up  to 
possess.  And  we  would  fain  hope  that  even  these  words 
may  incite  Christian  hearts  that  they  may  be  no  longer 
slack  to  go  in  to  possess  the  land  which  the  God  of  our 
fathers  has  given  us  in  Jesus. 

There  is  the  portion  of  Benjamin,  the  beloved  of  the 
Lord,  to  dwell  in  safety  by  him,  covered  all  the  day  long, 
and  borne  between  his  shoulders — the  place  where  Eastern 
mothers  cradle  their  babes,  giving  them  warmth  and  easy 
carriage.  There  is  the  portion  of  Zebulun,  to  whose  shores 
the  inimitable  ocean  washes  the  treasures  of  the  deep ;  in 
whose  heart  Gennesaret  lies,  with  its  fragrant  memories  of 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  There  is  the  portion  of  Issachar 
which  derived  treasures  from  the  sands,  emblems  of  the 
precious  stones,  the  pearls  and  crystals  of  spiritual  charac- 
ter. There  is  the  portion  of  Asher,  the  oil  of  whose  wine- 
presses bespeaks  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  strength 
of  whose  shoes  betokens  that  invincible  might  which  treads 


SPIRITUAL  ATTAINMENT.  179 

down  serpent  and  scorpion.  There  is  the  portion  of  Naph- 
tali,  satisfied  with  favor,  and  full  of  the  blessing  of  the 
Lord ;  owning  rich  forests,  the  circle  of  Galilee,  and  the 
garden  of  Palestine.  Each  of  these  is  significant  of  spirit- 
ual endowment,  which  we  ought  to  arise  to  possess. 

Too  long  have  we  been  slack  to  go  in  to  possess  that 
fullness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  might  be  in  us  as  a  living 
spring,  making  us  perfectly  satisfied ;  like  the  fountain  in 
the  court-yard  of  a  beleaguered  castle  which  enables  the 
garrison  to  defy  the  siege.  There  is  a  knowledge  of  Jesus, 
a  participation  in  his  victory,  a  realization  of  blessedness, 
which  are  as  much  beyond  the  ordinary  experience  of 
Christians  as  Canaan  was  better  than  the  wilderness.  But 
of  all  this  we,  alas!  know  so  little. 

The  causes  of  this  inertness  are  many.  We  shrink  from 
spiritual  attainment,  because  it  entails  self-denial,  the  sac- 
rifice of  darling  but  questionable  things,  together  with  the 
ascent  of  heights  where  the  air  is  rare,  and  the  muscles 
become  strained,  and  the  head  swims.  Oxu:  love  of  ease, 
our  attachment  to  the  world,  our  dread  of  being  singular, 
OMX  consciousness  that  we  should  have  to  forego  much  that 
we  cherish,  if  we  essayed  to  hold  fellowship  with  the 
Holy  God — all  these  things  prevail  over  us  as  the  bird-lime 
which  detains  the  fluttering  tenants  of  the  air  from  their 
native  element. 

But  how  much  we  miss!  The  nomad  life,  with  its  frail 
tents,  could  not  afford  those  seven  tribes  of  Israel  so  much 
lasting  enjoyment  as  their  own  freehold  in  Canaan.  What 
were  the  pasture-lands  of  the  desert  as  compared  to  the 
oliveyards  and  vineyards  of  Esdraelon  or  Galilee?  But  the 
comparison  is  utterly  inadequate  to  portray  the  loss  to 
which  we  subject  ourselves  in  refusing  to  appropriate  and 
enjoy  the  blessedness  which  is  laid  up  for  us  in  Jesus.  The 
yielded  life ;  the  members  presented  to  Christ  for  his  use, 


l8o  THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE   TASK. 

and  held  at  his  disposal;  the  cleansed  heart;  the  vic- 
tory over  sin ;  the  singleness  of  purpose ;  the  unbroken 
.fellowship  ;  the  Pentecostal  Fullness !  Let  us  come  to  our 
Joshua  at  Shiloh,  and  ask  him  to  lead  us  into  each  of 
these. 

III.  Joshua  Received  his  own  Inheritance. — "  The 

children  of  Israel  gave  him  the  city  that  he  asked,  even 
Timnath-serah,  in  the  hill  country  of  Ephraim  "  (xix.  50). 
In  the  following  book  it  is  spoken  of  as  Timnath-heres 
fudges  ii.  9).     It  was  "  the  portion  of  the  sun." 

The  old  veteran  had  deserved  well  of  his  people,  and 
must  have  been  glad  to  retire  to  his  estate,  on  which  the 
remaining  twenty  years  of  his  hfe  were  spent.  And  the 
greatness  of  his  influence  may  be  inferred  by  considering 
the  evils  that  overwhelmed  Israel  when  he  was  taken,  as 
the  sea  rushes  in  when  the  sea-wall  is  down.  His  very 
presence  among  the  people  was  a  restraint.  As  for  him  and 
his  house,  he  served  the  Lord,  and  maintained  the  sacred 
rites  which  Moses  had  enjoined ;  so  that  his  example  shone 
like  a  beacon-light  and  kept  the  darkness  at  bay.  What 
a  significant  testimony  to  his  consistency  and  steadfastness 
is  furnished  by  the  record,  "  The  people  served  the  Lord 
all  the  days  of  Joshua."  He  was  like  the  central  pillar 
which  supports  the  entire  weight  of  the  roof  of  some  chap- 
ter-house, with  its  Gothic  roof,  and  its  exquisite  foHage  of 
carved  stone. 

There  is  fascination  in  the  name  of  his  inheritance.  The 
portion  of  the  sun !  Did  it  lie  specially  open  toward  the 
sun,  catching  the  first  gUmpse  of  sunrise,  and  holding  the 
last  fading  gleam  of  sunset?  Perhaps  so.  But  there  seems 
a  special  beauty  in  the  name  when  we  associate  it  with  his 
previous  career  of  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  will  of  God. 
Like  Caleb,  he  had  wholly  followed  the  Lord.     And  as  the 


THE  CITIES  OF  REFUGE.  i8i 

course  of  the  one  ended  in  fellowship,  the  course  of  the 
other  ended  in  that  dwelling  in  the  Light  which  is  the  high- 
est bliss  within  man's  reach. 

Be  wholly  given  to  God,  then  you  too  shall  live  in  the 
light,  as  he  is  in  the  Light.  The  warmth  of  his  love  shall 
fill  your  emotions  with  its  glow,  and  teach  you  the  art  of 
love;  the  light  of  his  truth  shall  banish  obscurity  and 
ignorance  from  your  mind,  and  endow  it  with  direct  and 
certain  knowledge ;  the  ray  of  his  presence  shall  in- 
spire you  with  strength,  vigor,  elasticity,  immortal  youth. 
Where  sunshine  is,  there  is  hfe,  health,  gladness,  vigorous 
strength. 

IV.  Joshua  also  made  Provision  for  the  Man- 
slayer. — Six  cities  were  apportioned,  three  on  each  side 
of  the  Jordan,  central  to  the  adjacent  districts,  and  easily 
accessible.  Thither  the  manslayer  who  had  killed  any  per- 
son unwittingly  and  unawares  might  flee  from  the  pur- 
suit of  the  next  of  kin.  The  roads  were  kept  in  good  re- 
pair ;  clearly  written  directions  at  the  cross-ways  indicated 
the  route;  and,  according  to  Jewish  tradition,  runners, 
learned  in  the  law,  were  stationed  at  various  stages  to  di- 
rect and  help  the  fugitive. 

Once  within  the  city  walls,  all  breathless  with  his  flight, 
the  manslayer  waited  at  the  entering  of  the  gate  of  the  city 
till  he  had  stated  his  case  to  the  elders,  who  had  the  right 
of  admitting  him  provisionally  into  the  city.  On  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  avenger  of  blood,  the  cause  seems  to  have 
been  finally  adjudicated ;  and  if  it  were  clearly  shown  be- 
fore the  assembled  people  that  there  was  no  animosity  in 
the  blow  which  caused  death,  the  manslayer  was  permitted 
to  remain  there,  until  the  death  of  the  high-priest  then  in 
office. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  this  provision,  made  in  the  Land 


1 82  THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  TASK, 

of  Promise,  for  the  passing  over  of  sins  which  were  not 
sins  of  presumption.  For  the  latter  no  provision  was 
made.  But,  for  wrongs  which  did  not  emanate  from  a  fixed 
or  rooted  malice,  there  was,  as  in  the  case  of  sacrifices 
for  sins  of  ignorance  under  the  Levitical  code,  this  merciful 
provision.  Take  heart,  O  Christian  soul!  thou  hast  done 
many  evil  things,  in  thy  ignorance  or  thoughtlessness,  for 
which  thou  art  justly  guilty,  and  which  might  well  exclude 
thee  from  the  Land  of  Promise ;  yet,  there  is  forgiveness 
for  thee.  Only  get  thee  to  the  City  of  Refuge,  which  is 
also  the  city  of  the  priests,  and  hide  thee  there ;  thou  wilt 
not  only  be  safe,  but  shalt  enjoy  thine  inheritance  beside, 
for  the  High  Priest  has  died,  and  in  his  death  has  put  away 
thy  sin  forever ;  there  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation 
for  thee,  because  thou  art  in  him. 

The  Jews  specially  have  acted  the  part  of  the  man- 
slayer.  They  killed  the  Prince  of  Life,  but  they  did  it  in 
ignorance  (Acts  iii.  17,  18).  Therefore  they  have  lost  their 
heritage ;  but  they  exist  still  as  prisoners  of  hope,  finding 
refuge  among  the  cities  of  the  priests,  until  such  time  as 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  wrap  up  the  present  age  as  a  worn-out 
vesture,  and  shall  inaugurate  that  new  and  glorious  reign 
in  which  he  shall  take  to  himself  the  kingdom.  Then 
Israel  shall  return,  each  to  his  own  house,  and  imto  the  city 
from  whence  he  fled. 

V.  Joshua  Apportioned  Cities  for  the  Levites.— 
There  was  an  ancient  curse  hanging  over  the  lots  of  Simeon 
and  Levi.  Brethren  by  birth,  they  had  been  joint  perpe- 
trators in  a  dark  crime,  which  had  made  Jacob,  their  father, 
to  stink  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  among  the 
Canaanites  and  Perizzites.  The  dying  patriarch  could  not 
forget  that  deed  of  treacherous  cruelty,  and  as  it  rose  be- 
fore his  filming  sight  he  said : 


CITIES  FOR   THE  LEVITES.  183 

**  Weapons  of  violence  are  their  swords, 
Cursed  be  their  anger,  for  it  was  fierce; 
And  their  wrath,  for  it  was  cruel; 
I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob, 
And  scatter  them  in  Israel." 

But  this  curse  was  not  fulfilled  in  each  case  in  the  same 
way.  With  Simeon,  it  ran  its  course.  Settled  at  the  south 
of  Canaan,  between  Judah  and  Philistia,  this  tribe  became 
more  and  more  nomadic,  and  finally  faded  out  of  corpo- 
rate existence.  In  the  case  of  Levi,  it  was  transformed  into 
blessing.  The  behavior  of  this  tribe  was  very  remarkable. 
At  Sinai,  when  Moses  called  on  all  who  were  loyal  to 
Jehovah  to  gather  in  the  gate  of  the  camp,  the  Levites,  to 
a  man,  answered  his  appeal.  Phinehas,  also,  who  took 
such  decisive  action  in  the  matter  of  Baalpeor,  was  a 
Levite — perhaps  even  a  typical  one.  Whereupon  Jehovah 
entered  into  a  covenant  of  hfe  and  peace  with  them,  took 
them  as  a  substitute  for  the  first-bom  sons  of  Israel,  and 
pledged  himself  to  be  their  inheritance  (Num.  xviii.  20; 
Josh.  xiii.  2,3)' 

At  the  divine  command,  forty-eight  cities  were  given 
to  the  Levites,  with  one  thousand  cubits  of  pasture-land, 
measured  outward  from  the  city  walls.  There  they  dwelt 
when  not  required  for  temple-service,  or  when  they  were 
incapacitated  by  age  from  attending  on  their  sacred  office. 

As  Jacob  predicted,  they  were  scattered ;  but  the  eifect 
was  most  salutary.  They  permeated  the  whole  land  with 
the  hallowing  influence  of  Shiloh.  What  a  halo  of  sacred 
interest  must  have  gathered  round  the  man  whose  lot  it  was 
to  enter  into  the  temple  of  God  and  burn  incense  at  the 
solemn  hour  of  prayer !  Then  multiply  this  a  thousandfold, 
and  consider  what  a  wide  and  wholesome  effect  must  have 
been  produced  throughout  the  country,  especially  when 
Levi  fulfilled  the  lofty  possibilities  of  its  high  calling. 


1 84  THE  CONCLUSION  OF  THE  TASK. 

Moreover,  the  teaching  of  the  law  was  a  special  preroga- 
tive of  the  Levites,  who  appear  to  have  traveled  through 
their  apportioned  districts.  They  taught  Jacob  his  judg- 
ments, and  Israel  his  law;  as  well  as  put  incense  and 
whole  burnt-offering  on  the  altar.  They  caused  the  people 
to  discern  between  the  unclean  and  the  clean,  and  in  a  con- 
troversy stood  to  judge.  They  acted  as  the  messengers  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts  (Deut.  xxxiii.  lo). 

So  the  work  was  finished.  '*  There  failed  not  aught  of 
any  good  thing  which  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto  the  house 
of  Israel;  all  came  to  pass"  (Josh.  xxi.  43-45).  And  this 
is  true  still.  Our  Father  has  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual 
blessings  in  Christ.  He  has  withheld  no  good  thing.  In 
Jesus  all  fullness  dwells;  all  that  is  needed  for  hfe  and 
godhness.  We  are  complete  in  him.  If  there  is  failure, 
it  is  ours,  not  his.  If  the  Book  of  Judges  succeeds  to  that 
of  Joshua,  it  is  because  God's  heirs  yield  to  unbehef  and 
sin. 

In  the  eternity,  which  is  at  hand,  as  we  stand  together 
and  review  our  life  course — with  its  battles  and  marches 
and  experience,  its  losses  and  gains,  its  heights  of  privilege 
and  depths  of  failure — we  shall  without  doubt  take  up  and 
repeat  the  glad  confession  of  these  noble  words,  and  con- 
fess that  no  good  thing  failed  us  of  aught  that  the  Lord 
had  spoken,  but  that  all  came  to  pass. 


XX. 

UU  in  tlj^  lanb. 

(Joshua  xxii.) 

**  Give  us  now,  now !  — to  live  in  the  life  of  God. 
Give  us  now,  now !  — to  be  at  one  with  him. " 

Jean  Ingelow. 

WHEN  the  seven  years  of  fighting  came  at  last  to  an 
end,  the  children  of  Israel  settled  down  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  land.  It  was  Hke  the  clear  shining  of  the  sun 
after  a  wild  morning,  or  like  a  happy  and  prosperous  man- 
hood after  a  tempestuous  youth.  The  comparative  silence 
of  the  record  suggests  the  engrossing  interest  with  which 
the  people  gave  themselves  to  the  culture  of  the  land,  and 
to  the  occupation  of  great  and  goodly  cities  which  they 
had  not  built,  of  houses  full  of  all  good  things  which  they 
had  not  filled.  Cisterns  which  they  had  not  hewn  poured 
forth  refreshing  waters  to  vineyard,  oHveyard,  or  garden ; 
and  they  ate  and  were  full. 

The  soul,  as  it  matures  in  Christian  experience,  though 
it  never  ceases  to  walk  carefully,  yet  comes  to  realize  more 
fully  the  blessings  of  the  heavenly  places.  It  is  satisfied  with 
the  goodness  of  the  Lord,  and  is  like  a  watered  garden. 
It  is  fanned  by  breezes  from  the  mountains  of  myrrh.  The 
air  is  heavy  with  perfume ;  the  vines  bud,  their  blossoms 
are  open,  the  pomegranates  flower,  and  at  the  door  all 
manner  of  precious  fruits,  new  and  old,  are  laid  up. 

It  is  in  such  seasons  that  we  learn  the  meaning  of  rest ; 
185 


1 86  LIFE  IN  THE  LAND. 

the  true  source  of  unity;    and  the  need  of  patience  in 
dealing  with  the  erring  or  fallen. 

I.  Our  First  Discovery  is  the  Meaning  of  Rest. — 
"The  Lord  gave  them  rest  round  about,  according  to  all 
that  he  sware  unto  their  fathers  "  (xxi.  44).  "  And  now," 
said  Joshua,  addressing  the  two  and  a  half  tribes,  "the 
Lord  your  God  hath  given  rest  unto  your  brethren,  as  he 
promised  them."  And  this  was  the  chmax  of  Jehovah's 
dealings  with  the  chosen  people.  For  this  he  brought 
them  up  out  of  the  sea  with  the  shepherds  of  his  flock. 
For  this  he  put  his  Holy  Spirit  in  the  midst  of  them.  For 
this  he  caused  his  right  hand  to  go  at  the  right  hand  of 
Moses,  dividing  the  water  before  them,  to  make  himself 
an  everlasting  name.  For  this  he  led  them  through  the 
depths,  as  a  horse  in  the  wilderness,  that  they  should  not 
stumble.  The  divine  intention  through  it  all  was  that  as 
cattle  go  down  into  the  valley,  with  its  shade  and  succulent 
pasture,  to  hide  themselves  from  the  burning  heat,  so  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  should  cause  them  to  rest  (Isa.  Ixiii.  14). 

There  was  a  very  distinct  measiure  of  rest.  The  land 
rested  (Josh.  xi.  23),  and  the  people  also.  But  it  is  equally 
clear  that  Canaan  did  not  exhaust  God's  ideal.  Fair  as  it 
was,  its  benediction  did  not  go  beyond  the  narrow  circle 
of  mere  worldly  prosperity  and  material  interests.  And 
these  were  manifestly  inadequate.  How  impossible  it  is 
iox  the  soul  to  take  its  ease,  just  because  of  some  large  in- 
crease in  worldly  prosperity!  As  well  expect  it  to  grow 
fat  on  husks!  It  was  equally  impossible  that  the  mere  pos- 
session of  the  Land  of  Promise  could  give  rest  to  hearts 
with  infinite  capacity  for  love,  or  to  minds  with  an  insatia- 
ble appetite  for  truth.  The  rest  of  Canaan,  like  so  much 
else  in  this  book,  could  at  the  best  be  only  a  type  and 
shadow  of  that  spiritual  repose,  that  holy  tranquillity,  that 


GOD'S   WAY  IS  PERFECT.  187 

unspeakable  peace,  which  fill  the  souls  of  men  with  the 
rest  of  God  himself.  Listen  to  these  words — my  rest ;  his 
rest;  /he  Sabbath-keeping  of  the  people  of  God.  These 
are  more  than  Canaan,  with  its  joys  of  harvest,  and  the 
song  of  the  treader  in  the  press.  Therefore,  it  is  truly  said 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  If  Joshua  had  given  them 
rest,  then  would  he  [the  Spirit  of  inspiration  by  the  mouth 
of  David]  not  afterward  have  spoken  of  another  day. 
There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God  " 
(Heb.  iv.  8,  9). 

There  is  rest  from  the  first  glad  outburst  of  the  new  life ; 
but  it  gets  more  intense  as  the  years  go  on,  as  the  hue  of 
the  sky  deepens  from  the  pale  blue  of  April  into  the  ultra- 
marine of  August.  The  cause  of  this  is  in  the  ever-grow- 
ing conviction  that  God's  way  is  perfect,  his  will  lovehest, 
his  plan  best.  When  first  we  enter  into  rest,  we  have  to 
watch  against  distrust,  to  reason  with  ourselves  that  all 
must  be  well,  to  solace  ourselves  with  promise  and  assur- 
ance. But,  as  the  days  pass,  each  utters  speech  to  the 
next;  and  the  accumulated  voice  of  experience  gathers 
volume  within  the  secret  chambers  of  the  heart.  We 
come  to  know  him  whom  once  we  did  but  trust.  We  re- 
member that  not  one  good  thing  has  failed  of  all  he  prom-, 
ised.  We  see  that  the  most  threatening  tempest  clouds  of 
our  lives  have  either  been  dissipated  or  have  broken  in 
showers  of  blessing.  We  remember  that  things  we  prayed 
against,  and  fought  against,  have  been  oiu:  greatest  bless- 
ings. We  are  driven  to  admit  that  whenever  we  got  our 
way,  it  was  gall  and  bitterness ;  but  that  when  God  had 
his,  it  was  milk  and  honey. 

When  such  thoughts  throng  the  heart,  whilst  from  some 
summit  in  life  we  review  tke  past,  our  hearts  are  filled  with 
emotions  of  tranquil  restfulness.  Why  should  we  fret  and 
chafe,  or  beat  our  breasts  against  the  bars,  or  allow  our 


1 88  LIFE  IN   THE  LAND. 

souls  to  be  disquieted  within  us?  All  is  under  law,  all 
under  love,  all  things  are  working  together  for  good.  He 
will  give  grace  and  glory.  No  good  thing  will  he  with- 
hold from  those  to  whom  he  has  given  his  only-begotten 
Son.  In  him  the  tenderness  of  motherhood  and  of  father- 
hood blend.  There  is  not  a  step  he  does  not  weigh ;  not 
a  path  he  does  not  winnow ;  not  a  tear,  the  shedding  of 
which  has  not  been  to  him  a  subject  of  anxiety;  not  a 
stab  of  pain,  the  edge  of  which  he  has  not  felt  before  it 
touches  us ;  not  a  sorrow,  the  weight  of  which  he  has  not 
felt  before  he  allowed  it  to  impinge.  Such  a  God  is  thine, 
O  my  soul !  hush  thee ;  trust  him ;  he  is  doing  all  things 
well;  be  still  and  at  rest!  Thou  art  as  safe  as  if  the  gate 
of  pearl  were  behind  thee ;  thy  joy  cannot  rust  or  be 
stolen ;  every  wind  is  a  south  wind ;  every  shore  thy  native 
land ;  every  circumstance  a  rough  packing-case  containing 
the  gifts  of  thy  Father's  love. 

And  so  the  rest,  born  of  trust,  gets  ever  deeper ;  because 
the  trust  enlarges  with  growing  knowledge.  The  more  we 
grow  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
the  more  absolute  is  our  trust  in  his  everlasting,  all-per- 
vading love;  and  the  more  unbroken  is  our  rest.  It  is 
true  that  the  people  entered  into  rest  when  they  crossed  the 
Jordan ;  it  is  also  true  that  seven  years  after  they  drank 
higher  up  the  stream,  where  the  waters  were  more  pellucid. 
A  meet  emblem  this  of  the  successive  increments  of  rest- 
fulness  experienced  by  those  whom  the  Lamb  leads  ever 
farther  into  the  heart  of  the  land,  unswept  by  tempests, 
and  within  the  limits  of  which  there  is  no  more  sea. 

II.  Our  Second  Discovery  is  the  True  Center  of 
Unity. — The  forty  thousand  warriors  who  had  so  nobly 
fulfilled  their  early  promise  received  the  public  thanks  of 
the  great  leader ;  and  his  last  advice,  "  Turn  ye,  and  get 


THE  TRUE  CENTER  OF  UNITY.  iSg 

you  unto  your  tents;  .  .  .  only  ?ake  diligent  heed  to 
do  the  commandment  of  the  Lord."  He  expressed  also  in 
the  name  of  the  congregation  his  fervent  desire  that  they 
should  have  much  cattle,  silver,  gold,  brass,  and  iron,  with 
very  much  raiment — words  and  wishes  which  they  most 
certainly  deserved. 

When  they  reached  the  fords  of  Jordan,  and  reflected 
that  the  stream  would  presently  divide  them  from  the  rest 
of  the  people,  a  sudden  fear  seems  to  have  overtaken  them, 
lest,  in  coming  days,  the  seven  tribes  and  a  half  might  say 
to  their  children,  "  What  have  ye  to  do  with  Jehovah,  the 
God  of  Israel?  For  the  Lord  hath  made  Jordan  a  border 
between  us  and  you :  ye  have  no  portion  with  us."  To 
obviate  this,  and  to  make  clear  for  all  coming  time  their 
identity  with  the  rest  of  the  people,  they  built  an  altar  on 
the  western  bank  of  Jordan.  It  was  a  great  altar  to  see 
to,  not  intended  for  burnt-offering  or  meal- offering,  or  for 
religious  rites ;  but  as  a  perpetual  witness  that  its  builders 
were  leal-hearted  Israelites. 

But  it  was  a  great  mistake.  No  pattern  for  its  shape 
had  been  received  from  God,  nor  any  direction  as  to  its 
construction ;  whilst  if  they  had  obeyed  the  divine  instruc- 
tion, that  three  times  in  the  year  all  their  males  should  ap- 
pear before  God  in  Shiloh,  there  would  have  been  no  need 
for  this  clumsy  contrivance.  In  their  view  the  unity  of 
the  people  could  not  be  preserved  by  a  merely  spiritual 
bond,  but  by  an  outward  and  mechanical  one.  The  com- 
mon ties  of  the  altar  at  Shiloh  were  insufficient ;  there  must 
be  in  addition  the  great  altar  of  Ed. 

There  was  in  vogue,  however,  a  truer  conception — that 
of  Joshua  and  the  rest  of  Israel.  Similarly,  life  in  the 
heavenlies  begets  in  us  a  clear  conception  of  the  true  unity 
of  the  people  of  God.  And  here  is  another  remarkable 
parallel  between  this  book  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 


19©  LIFE  IN   THE  LAND. 

which,  whilst  it  is  specially  the  book  of  the  heavenly  places, 
is  also  the  revelation  of  the  mystery  of  that  body  which, 
amid  the  diversity  of  its  parts,  partakes  of  the  unity  of  God 
himself.  In  the  early  stages  of  Christian  life,  we  suppose 
that  unity  can  only  be  obtained  by  the  formulation  of  a 
common  creed,  and  the  inclusion  of  all  believers  in  some 
great  visible  body.  We  build  the  altar  of  Ed.  Ignorant 
of  God's  principle  of  unity,  we  make  one  for  ourselves. 
In  a  word,  we  mistake  uniformity  for  unity.  But  as  we  go 
from  strength  to  strength  we  discover  that  all  true  souls 
who  meet  around  the  altar  are  one.  Coming  from  all 
points  of  the  compass,  fired  by  the  same  hopes,  suppliants 
at  the  same  meeting-place,  rehant  upon  the  same  blood,  the 
common  attraction  establishes  an  organic  unity ;  hke  that 
of  the  tree,  the  multiplicity  of  whose  parts  is  subsidiary  to 
the  one  hf e  force ;  or  like  that  of  the  body,  the  variety  of 
whose  members  is  subordinate  to  the  one  animating  soul. 

The  nearer  we  get  to  Christ,  the  more  clearly  we  discern 
our  unity  with  all  who  belong  to  him.  We  learn  to  think 
less  of  points  of  divergence,  and  more  of  those  of  agreement. 
We  find  that  the  idiosyncrasies  by  which  each  believer  is 
fitted  for  his  specific  work  do  not  materially  affect  those 
depths  of  the  inner  life  which  in  all  saints  abut  on  the 
nature  of  the  Hving  Saviour.  As  the  scattered  sheep  browse 
their  way  up  toward  a  common  summit,  they  converge  on 
each  other,  and  there  is  one  flock,  as  there  is  one  Shepherd. 

It  is  the  supreme  vision  of  the  Bible,  granted  to  the 
most  eminent  saints,  that  though  the  new  Jerusalem  com- 
prehends the  names  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  and  of  the  Apos- 
tles of  the  Lamb,  is  garnished  by  jewels  of  many  hues, 
and  has  gates  facing  in  all  directions,  it  yet  is  one,  "  the 
Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife."  What  wonder,  then,  that  the 
world,  and  sometimes  the  professing  Church,  supposes  that 
the  Lord's  prayer  is  not  fulfilled,  and  that  the  unity  has 


THE  NEED   OF  PATIENCE.  191 

yet  to  be  made?     The  unity  is  made ;  but  only  the  spirit- 
ual with  spiritual  discernment  can  detect  its  symmetry. 

III.  We  Discover  the  Need  of  Patience  in  Deal- 
ing WITH  THE  Erring  and  Fallen. — When  first  the 
tribes  of  Israel  heard  of  the  erection  of  the  altar,  their  im- 
pulse was  to  go  at  once  against  their  brethren  to  battle. 
Shiloh  was  the  mustering  place ;  for  it  seemed  as  if  an 
offence  had  been  perpetrated  against  that  holy  shrine. 

But  wiser  counsels  prevailed,  and  it  seemed  best  to 
depute  Phinehas  and  ten  princes,  men  of  note,  to  go  as  a 
deputation  in  the  name  of  the  whole  congregation  of  the 
Lord.  They  found  the  warriors  in  the  land  of  Gilead  on 
the  point  of  dispersing  to  their  homes,  uttered  their  re- 
monstrance, and  quoted  the  warning  instances  of  Achan 
and  Beth-peor  as  reasons  for  fear  lest  the  sin  of  one  should 
be  visited  in  judgment  upon  all.  Their  contention  was, 
that  none  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  or  even  of  individual 
members  of  the  commonwealth,  could  sin  without  involv- 
ing the  whole  in  judgment.  "  Rebel  not  against  the  Lord, 
nor  rebel  against  us." 

So  deeply  had  the  spirit  of  love  wrought  in  their  hearts, 
that  they  even  proposed  to  share  the  land  of  western 
Canaan,  wherein  the  Lord's  Tabernacle  dwelt,  with  their 
brethren.  "  If  the  land  of  your  possession  be  unclean,  then 
pass  ye  over  unto  the  land  of  the  possession  of  the  Lord, 
and  take  possession  among  us." 

There  was  a  gentleness,  a  winsomeness,  a  desire  to  attract 
back  the  erring,  which  are  quite  beautiful,  and  in  striking 
contrast  to  much  that  had  been,  and  was  yet  to  be.  And 
it  had  its  desired  effect  in  eliciting  a  frank  disavowal  of  any 
desire  to  turn  away  from  following  the  Lord,  accompanied 
by  a  simple  explanation  of  the  motives  which  had  actuated 
them.     Thus  the  whole  episode  resulted  in  a  tightening  of 


192  LIFE  IN  THE  LAND. 

the  bonds  of  brotherhood,  and  in  glad  protestations  of 
thankfulness  and  praise. 

So  is  it  always.  The  fiery  persecutor  ends  by  beseeching 
men  by  the  mercies  of  God.  The  sword  is  laid  aside  for 
the  olive-branch.  And  we  who  had  commenced  life  full  of 
harsh  judgments  and  impetuous  heat,  whilst  not  relaxing 
out  steadfast  allegiance  to  truth,  learn  to  deal  gently  with 
the  erring ;  restoring  them  in  a  spirit  of  meekness,  bearing 
one  another's  burdens,  and  counting  it  a  greater  gain  to 
win  a  brother  than  to  overcome  him  in  argument  or  destroy 
him  by  sarcasm.  Thus,  in  the  golden  autumn,  the  fruit 
which  had  been  acrid  enough  in  its  first  inception  becomes 
mellow  and  luscious.  The  fierce  beams  that  struck  like 
swords  fall  slanting  in  softening  radiance ;  and  Peter,  the 
vehement  disciple,  administers  consolation  to  suffering  be- 
lievers out  of  a  heart  softened  by  years  of  attempering  trial. 


XXI. 

QLake  ^cch  to  CotJe! 

(Joshua  xxiii.) 

**  With  all  thy  hart,  with  all  thy  soull  and  mind. 
Thou  must  him  love,  and  his  behests  embrace ;  •  •  • 
And  give  thy s  elf e  unto  him — full  and  free, 
That  full  and  freely  gave  himselfe  to  thee!" 

Spenser. 

EIGHTEEN  years  had  probably  passed  since  the  events 
recorded  in  the  previous  chapter.  The  rest  which 
God  had  given  had  not  been  broken  in  upon  by  any  upris- 
ing of  the  Canaanites ;  and  the  people  had  been  able  to 
prosecute  the  toils  of  husbandry  unhindered  by  the  alarm 
of  war.  All  around  them,  and  mingled  with  them,  were 
the  remnants  of  the  Canaanites ;  but  they  were  becoming 
more  accustomed  to  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  land  with 
the  invaders,  and  were  content  to  share  with  them  a  coun- 
try so  rich  that  it  was  easily  able  to  sustain  them  all. 

Meanwhile,  years  as  they  passed  left  evident  traces  on 
the  bearing  and  energy  of  the  great  leader,  who  had  be- 
come "  old,  and  well  stricken  in  years."  In  this  respect,  of 
course,  he  presents  no  parallel  with  the  Prince  and  Captain 
of  the  Church,  who  is  leading  his  people  into  the  heavenly 
places,  and  sharing  with  them  his  rest.  He  "  ever  liveth." 
Joshua,  knowing  that  his  end  was  drawing  near,  called  for 
the  leaders  of  the  people  to  an  audience  with  him ;  in  some 
such  way  as  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  summoned 

193 


194  TAKE  HEED   TO  LOVE! 

the  elders  of  Ephesus  to  meet  him  on  the  shore  of  the 
^gean.  It  must  have  been  an  imposing  and  memorable 
gathering,  either  in  the  vicinity  of  his  own  inheritance,  or 
on  the  sacred  site  of  Shiloh. 

Probably  Caleb  would  be  there  with  Kenaz ;  Phinehas 
the  priest ;  warriors  who  had  been  in  all  the  great  battles 
of  the  conquest,  but  who  had  latterly  exchanged  the  sword 
for  the  plowshare,  and  the  spear  for  the  pruning-hook ; 
others  also  who  were  beardless  youths  at  the  conquest,  but 
now  came  as  heads  of  famiHes,  elders,  judges,  and  officers. 
The  wisdom  and  chivahy  of  Israel  were  convoked  to  hear 
the  last  words  of  the  great  chief,  who  bridged  the  gulf  of 
time  between  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  and  that  moment 
when  the  Land  of  Promise  had  been  for  twenty  years  in 
the  possession  of  the  people. 

Standing  upon  the  vantage  ground  of  that  gathering, 
Joshua  directed  the  mind  of  his  auditors  into  the  past,  and 
reminded  them  of  what  God  had  done  for  them.  He  had 
brought  them  in  and  planted  them  in  the  mountain  of  his 
inheritance,  in  the  place  which  he  had  made  for  himself  to 
dwell  in;  an^  not  one  thing  had  failed  of  all  the  good 
things  that  he  had  spoken ;  all  had  come  to  pass.  This 
episode  of  the  old  veteran  testifying  to  the  unfailing  faith- 
fulness of  God  has  its  counterpart  in  the  experience  of  the 
matured  behever,  when  memory  speaks,  recalling  scenes 
from  the  long  past,  and  comparing  the  harvest  of  life's 
golden  autumn  with  the  promise  of  its  spring. 

Joshua's  one  anxiety  appears  to  have  been  about  the 
nations  that  were  left.  Seven  times  he  refers  to  the  nations 
of  the  land.  What  God  had  done  to  them;  how  they 
were  allotted  to  be  an  inheritance ;  how  God  was  prepared 
to  thrust  them  out ;  and  especially  how  great  a  temptation 
would  be  suggested  by  their  perpetual  presence,  lest  the 
people  should  be  tempted  to  cleave  unto  them,  intermarry 


''THOU  SHALT  LOVE."  IQS 

with  them,  and  adopt  their  gods.  It  was  as  though  the 
old  man  realized  that  he  was  the  only  barrier  between  Israel 
and  the  inroads  of  worldly  conformity  and  idolatrous  rites ; 
and  his  exhortation  anticipates  that  addressed  by  the  apos- 
tle Paul  to  the  elders  of  the  church  at  Ephesus :  "I  know 
that  after  my  departing  grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in 
among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock,  and  from  among  your 
own  selves  shall  men  arise  speaking  perverse  things; 
wherefore  watch  ye! " 

As  a  preservative  against  these  evil  consequences,  Joshua 
proposed  three  safeguards :  the  first  of  which  reminds  us 
of  the  admonition  given  to  himself  at  the  beginning  of  this 
book,  that  they  were  to  be  very  courageous,  so  as  to  keep 
and  do  all  that  was  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  not  turning 
aside  from  it  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left.  The  second 
was  the  certainty  that  if  they  became  identified  with  the 
heathen  in  marriage  alliance  or  idolatrous  practices,  they 
would  not  be  able  to  prevail  against  them  in  battle,  but 
would  find  in  them  a  trap,  a  scourge  and  thorns,  until  they 
perished  quickly  from  off  the  good  land  into  which  they 
had  come. 

But  it  is  on  the  third  that  we  would  dwell  particularly ; 
"  take  good  heed  therefore  unto  yom"selves,  that  ye  love  the 
Lord  your  God."  There  is  a  beautiful  fitness  in  this  ex- 
hortation as  coming  at  the  close  of  this  book.  The  earher 
pages  are  full  of  bloodshed  and  strife ;  but  here  the  soldier 
speaks  as  the  lover,  and  the  clash  of  arms  is  exchanged 
for  the  dulcet  notes  of  the  harp.  The  froth  is  left  behind, 
and  the  stream  runs  clear.  The  storm  of  the  morning  has 
sunk  into  the  gentle  zephyr  of  the  evening  sunset.  Thus 
the  life  of  Christ  led  up  to  the  discourses  of  the  upper 
room,  warm  with  the  glow  of  love. 

The  whole  law  of  God  and  of  human  Hfe  is  fulfilled  in 
that  one  word,  "Thou  shalt  love."     Take  good  heed  to 


196  TAKE  HEED   TO  LOVE! 

love  God,  and  all  other  injunctions  are  comparatively  need- 
less. Love  God,  and  you  will  be  content  with  nothing 
less  than  to  inherit  all  the  land,  even  to  that  great  sea  of 
his  love  upon  which  the  sun  never  goes  down.  Love 
God,  and  courage  must  possess  you;  as  the  timid  bird 
will  assail  the  dreaded  depredator  of  her  nest,  her  maternal 
love  making  her  obhvious  to  all  considerations  of  her  own 
safety.  Love  God,  and  you  will  love  his  Book,  nor  wish 
to  swerve  from  it.  Love  God,  and  you  will  not  seek  a 
love  which  is  inconsistent  with  your  supreme  affection. 
Love  God,  and  you  will  possess  God,  and  be  possessed 
by  God ;  and  things  which  otherwise  had  been  snares  and 
traps  and  scourges  will  become  stepping-stones  to  a  fuller, 
richer  Hfe.  Love  God,  and  you  will  become  one  with  all 
holy  beings  in  heaven  and  upon  earth,  and  throughout  the 
universe,  to  whom  he  is  the  supreme  Love. 

The  one  consideration,  therefore,  which  demands  our 
thought  is  how  to  fulfill  this  command,  "Take  heed  to  love." 
What  are  the  steps  by  which  we  may  enter  into  the  heart 
of  obedience  to  that  great  law,  first  enunciated  by  Moses, 
and  reaffirmed  by  Jesus,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength  "? 

I.  Remember  that  Love  is  of  God. — The  only 
Being  that  really  is,  is  God.  All  other  being  is  derived  ;  his 
is  inherent  and  essential  to  himself.  There  is  probably  a 
deeper  meaning  than  we  have  ever  apprehended  in  his 
name,  I  AM.  There  is  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are 
all  things.  He  is  over  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all. 
Therefore,  all  love  and  power  and  wisdom  not  only  reside 
in  him,  but  pass  from  him  into  all  other  beings,  according 
to  the  measure  in  which  they  are  prepared  to  receive  them. 
He  is  the  central  Sun;   and  all  that  is  fair  or  noble  or 


''GOD  IS  LOyE."  197 

helpful  in  any  one  is  the  far-traveled  ray  of  his  nature 
caught  by  the  soul,  consciously  or  not,  to  be  flashed  back 
again  to  its  source. 

What  was  nature  in  its  first  creation  but  the  reproduction 
in  material  forms  of  thoughts  and  conceptions  that  other- 
wise had  been  hidden  forever  in  the  depths  of  the  divine 
nature!  What  are  the  forces  in  the  physical  world,  light, 
heat,  electricity,  but  manifestations  of  the  energy  of  God  ! 
And  what,  in  the  moral  world,  are  virtue,  courage,  patience, 
love  but  sparks — more  or  less  dimmed  by  the  fallen  state 
of  man — of  that  hght  which  hghteth  every  man  coming 
into  the  world  ! 

Let  us  ascend  farther,  into  the  highest  sphere  of  all,  and 
speak  of  love.  Love  is  the  crown  of  human  nature ;  its 
regal  chaplet  of  flowers ;  the  bond  by  which  the  sentient 
universe  is  made  one ;  the  trait  in  which  we  most  nearly 
resemble  God,  for  God  is  Love.  In  Love's  hand  Hes  the 
key  to  unlock  the  lost  secret  of  concord.  She  alone  can 
speak  the  magic  word  by  which  the  marring  effect  of  sin 
can  be  undone,  and  all  the  occupants  of  the  many  man- 
sions of  the  Father's  house  formed  into  one  great  family, 
bound  together  and  to  God  by  the  cohesion  of  a  common 
tie.  It  is  by  love  alone  that  angels,  and  redeemed  spirits, 
and  holy  beings  everywhere  shall  be  so  harmonized  as  to 
unite  in  the  new  song,  which  is  yet  to  break  in  waves  of 
melody  around  the  throne  of  the  Most  High.  Love  must 
conquer  discord,  subdue  strife,  and  complete  the  divine 
purpose. 

But  all  love,  whether  in  the  heart  of  the  babe,  that 
stretches  out  its  hands  toward  the  familiar  face  which 
overbends  it ;  or  in  the  mother,  enthralled  to  a  new  ecstasy ; 
or  in  the  faithful  servant,  prepared  to  give  his  life  for  his 
charge ;  whether  in  the  soul  of  man  or  of  angel ;  whether 
on  earth,  or  beyond  it  in  the  blessed  spheres  that  elude  our 


198  TAKE  HEED   TO  LOVE! 

vision — must  have  its  ultimate  source,  fountain,  and  origin 
in  the  heart  of  God. 

It  stands,  therefore,  to  reason  that  those  who  would  love 
purely,  unselfishly,  strongly,  must  converse  deeply  with 
God.  There  must  be  a  steeping  of  the  nature  in  his 
fellowship,  as  the  dyer's  hand  in  the  deep  colors  of  his 
craft,  or  sea-flowers  in  the  warm  waters  of  southern  climes. 
As  the  moon  must  hold  converse  with  the  sun,  that  she 
may  receive  the  glory  which  she  shall  transmit  to  our  night, 
so  our  only  hope  of  giving  love  is  to  receive  it.  We  must 
get,  if  we  would  give ;  absorb,  if  we  would  transmit ;  ob- 
tain, if  we  would  scatter.     Oh  for  a  closer  walk  with  God! 

II.  But  such  Love  comes  to  us  through  Jesus. — 
There  is,  of  course,  a  broad  sense  in  which  the  love  of  God 
reaches  all  men ;  but  even  this  is  only  possible  because  of 
the  death  and  intercession  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Unless  he 
had  become  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  the 
love  of  God  would  have  had  no  channel  through  which, 
consistently  with  righteousness,  it  could  have  poured  forth 
its  tides.  Had  it  not  been  for  Jesus,  the  flowers  of  heaven 
falling  into  the  pit  of  sin  would  have  been  tiumed  to  flakes 
of  fire. 

But,  in  a  deeper  sense,  the  love  of  God  has  been  stored 
in  the  manhood  of  Jesus.  The  divine  essence  expresses 
itself  in  terms  of  human  affection.  And  it  is  when  we 
know  Jesus,  and  are  united  to  him  by  faith,  and  through 
him  are  united  to  God,  that  we  begin  to  experience  the  full 
tide  of  divine  love  as  it  comes  from  God  the  Father, 
through  the  Son,  to  become  in  us  a  well  of  living  water, 
springing  up  into  everlasting  life.  Then  we  begin  to  ex- 
perience what  Paul  meant  when  he  cried,  "  The  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  us."  Open  your  heart  to  Jesus ;  culti- 
vate his  friendship ;  live  in  his  fellowship ;  famiharize  your- 


"THE  FRUIT  OF  THE  SPIRIT  IS  LOVE."        i99 

self  with  the  constant  consideration  of  what  he  has  done 
for  you.  Love  begets  love;  think,  then,  how  much  he 
loved  you,  when  he  gave  himself  for  you.  Talk  of  him 
to  others,  till  your  soul  begins  to  glow. 

III.  Love  also  is  by  the  Holy  Ghost. — The  love 
of  God  hath  been  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us  (Rom.  v.  5).  As  the  grapes 
of  Eshcol  were  a  pledge  that  God  would  give  the  land 
from  which  they  came,  and  he  did,  so  the  divine  Spirit 
takes  of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  communicates  it  to  us,  as 
an  assurance  of  a  hope  that  can  never  be  ashamed.  We 
argue  from  the  bhss  which  is  to  that  which  is  to  be.  We 
are  sure  of  eternity  because  it  is  already  begun  in  us. 
Already  we  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ;  and 
are  therefore  assured  of  the  land  where  the  Lamb  leads  his 
flock  to  fountains  of  life. 

Let  us  lay  this  well  to  heart,  that  the  first  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  is  love.  Like  fruit,  it  swells  gradually  on  the  bough, 
reddens  in  the  cluster,  and  ripens,  man  hardly  knows  how. 
Yield  to  the  Holy  Spirit ;  never  rest  till  you  have  claimed, 
reverently  and  humbly,  your  share  in  Pentecost ;  be  filled 
with  the  Spirit:  thus  you,  too,  will  receive  a  baptism  of 
love.  When  we  are  strengthened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man,  we  begin  to  know  the  heights  and  depths,  and 
lengths  and  breadths  of  the  love  of  Christ. 

IV.  There  are  some  further  Directions  for 
Loving  God. — We  can  only  enumerate  them  as  we  close : 

(i)  Distinguish  between  the  emotion  of  love,  which  is 
variable  and  inconstant,  and  love  itself. 

(2)  Remember  that  it  is  possible  to  love  God  not  only 
with  the  heart,  but  with  the  mind.  The  will  should  put  him 
first,  as  the  pivot  upon  which  the  whole  life  shall  revolve. 


200  TAKE  HEED   TO  LOVE. 

(3)  The  test  of  love  is  not  feeling  or  speaking,  but  obey- 
ing. "He  that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me." 

(4)  Guard  against  the  intrusion  of  sense ;  for  where  any 
license  is  given  to  bodily  appetite,  there  is  instant  loss  in- 
flicted on  the  growth  of  the  soul  in  the  love  of  God. 

(5)  Climb  to  the  love  of  God  through  the  love  of  man. 
Dare  to  treat  all  men  as  you  know  you  would  if  yoM  felt 
to  love  them,  and  you  will  come  to  feel  tenderly  and  piti- 
fully toward  them.  This  is  the  beginning  of  love.  This 
is  most  like  God's  love.  Act  thus  always  by  the  power  of 
the  indwelling  Spirit,  and  you  will  certainly  apprehend  in 
growing  measure,  though  never  comprehend,  the  unsearch- 
able love  of  God.  We  may  know  the  love  of  Christ ;  but 
it  passeth  knowledge. 


XXII. 

(Joshua  xxiv.) 

**  Whensoe'er  it  comes — 
That  summons  that  we  look  for — it  will  seem 
Soon,  yea,  too  soon !  — Let  us  take  heed  in  time 
That  God  may  now  be  glorified  in  us ! " 

H.  Hamilton  King. 

ONCE  more  the  veteran  leader,  who  was  soldier,  judge, 
statesman,  and  prophet  combined,  desired  to  see  his 
people  face  to  face.  His  meeting  with  their  representa- 
tives was  therefore  followed,  almost  immediately,  by  a 
gathering  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  Shechem;  where 
years  before  they  had  stood  together  in  solemn  convocation, 
whilst  from  the  heights  of  Ebal  and  Gerizim  had  rolled  the 
Amens  of  the  people  in  answer  to  the  blessing  and  the  curse. 
The  stones  on  which  the  law  had  been  written  were  still 
clearly  in  evidence,  and  the  whole  scene  must  heve  come 
vividly  back  to  the  memory  of  the  majority  of  those  as- 
sembled. But  from  that  moment  the  valley  would  be  as- 
sociated specially  with  this  touching  farewell  scene,  in  which 
Joshua  uttered  his  last  exhortations  and  appeals. 

Joshua's  Narrative. — He  told  again  the  wonderful 
story  of  Israel's  past ;  beginning  where  God  began,  with 
their  fathers  in  their  native  land  beyond  the  Euphrates,  in 
the  dim  dawn  of  history.     What  a  far-traveled  look  was 

201 


202  EVENSONG. 

that  to  Terah,  the  father  of  Abraham  and  the  father  of 
Nachor  !  The  reference  was  possibly  intended  to  give 
him  the  opportunity  of  emphasizing  the  fact  that  there  the 
family  was  as  much  addicted  to  idolatry  as  any  of  the 
peoples  around.  This  sin  was,  so  to  speak,  indigenous  to 
the  soil  of  Israel — a  weed  which  would  crop  up,  unless  the 
utmost  care  was  exercised  against  it.  Look,  O  Israel,  to 
the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  ye  were  hewn;  ye  were  not 
originally  one  whit  better  than  others.  God  did  not  choose 
you  for  any  distinguishing  trait  of  monotheistic  fervor, 
but  because  of  his  sovereign  grace.  This  alone  has  made 
you  to  differ.  Ye  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ;  but 
in  his  mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  you, 
he  chose  you  for  his  own. 

Isaac,  Jacob,  Esau — names  which  made  the  deepest 
chords  vibrate  in  his  hearers'  hearts — were  successively 
recalled  in  the  deep  hush  that  had  fallen  on  the  vast  as- 
sembly. Then  the  speaker,  acting  as  the  spokesman  of 
Jehovah,  reached  more  familiar  ground,  as  he  recalled 
names  and  events  which  had  played  a  part  in  his  own 
wonderful  career — the  mission  of  the  two  brethren;  the 
plagues  of  Egypt;  the  cry  and  deliverance  of  the  Red 
Sea ;  the  wilderness ;  Balak,  son  of  Zippor,  and  Balaam, 
son  of  Beor ;  the  passage  of  the  Jordan ;  the  fall  of  Jeri- 
cho ;  the  overthrow  of  the  seven  nations  of  Canaan ;  the 
possession  of  their  land. 

But  throughout  the  story,  the  entire  stress  is  laid  on  the 
grace  of  God.  /  took ;  /  gave ;  /  sent ;  /  brought ;  / 
destroyed;  /gave;  /delivered.  Not  a  mention  is  made 
of  Israel's  mighty  men.  All  is  attributed  to  the  ultimate 
source  of  nature,  history,  and  grace — the  supreme  will  of 
God.  We  cannot  get  beyond  that.  However  many  links 
we  interpose  between  ourselves  and  the  causes  of  things, 
ultimately  we  are  shut  up  to  acknowledge  the  determining 
counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God.     The  Christian  can- 


IDOLATRY.  203 

not  improve  on  the  creed  once  formulated  by  the  great 
heathen  monarch :  "  He  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the 
army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth ; 
and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him.  What  doest 
Thou  ?  " 

There  is  nothing  more  salutary  than  to  stand  on  the 
eminence  of  the  years  in  life's  golden  evening  and  review 
the  way  by  which  our  God  has  led  us.  The  far-away 
home,  where  faces  glimmer  out  in  the  daybreak  of  life's 
morning,  on  which  we  shall  not  look  again  till  the  vail  of 
eternity  rends ;  the  hard  bondage  of  early  life ;  the  many 
straits  and  deliverances ;  the  guiding  cloud  of  the  pilgrim- 
age ;  the  daily  provision  for  incessant  needs ;  the  human 
love;  the  goodness  and  mercy  which  have  followed  all 
our  days.  Ah  me !  what  a  romance  Hes  behind  the  mean- 
est hfe,  of  sin  and  forgiveness,  of  provocation  and  pity,  of 
grace  and  gift!  Not  one  of  us  that  shall  not  hold  his 
own  history  to  be  the  most  wonderful  of  all  when  we  ex- 
change experiences  in  that  land  which  we  shall  not  get  by 
our  own  sword  or  bow,  dwelling  in  mansions  we  did  not 
build,  eating  of  vineyards  and  oHveyards  we  did  not  plant. 

Joshua's  Appeal. — It  would  appear  that  the  people 
largely  maintained  the  worship  of  household  gods,  like 
those  which  Rachel  stole  from  Laban.  This  practice  was 
probably  perpetuated  by  stealth.  But  the  germs  of  evil 
were  only  awaiting  favorable  conditions  to  manifest  them- 
selves, and  Joshua  had  every  reason  to  dread  the  further 
development  of  the  insidious  taint.  The  human  heart  is 
always  so  willing  to  substitute  the  material  for  the  spirit- 
ual ;  and  where  the  idol  takes  the  place  of  God,  man  for- 
feits the  only  antagonistic  force  strong  enough  to  coun- 
teract the  workings  of  his  passion.  Thus  in  every  nation 
under  heaven  idolatry  has  sooner  or  later  led  to  impurity. 
Therefore,  with  marked  emphasis,  Joshua  appealed  to  the 


204  '  EVENSONG. 

people  to  put  away  the  gods  which  Terah  and  others  of 
their  ancestors  had  served  beyond  the  river,  and  those  which 
they  had  vainly  invoked  in  the  slave-huts  of  Egypt.  He 
did  this  first  at  the  close  of  his  address  (14),  and  again  just 
before  the  memorable  interview  closed  (23). 

The  work  of  idol-renunciation  runs  parallel  with  our 
deepest  experiences  in  the  blessed  Hfe.  Even  John,  at  the 
close  of  his  first  Epistle,  bids  his  disciples  keep  themselves 
from  idols.  In  fact,  it  is  only  as  the  clearer  light  of  heaven 
falls  upon  us  that  we  come  to  see  the  true  nature  of  many 
things  which  we  had  counted  innocent,  and  hugged  as 
dearer  than  Hfe.  We  may  choose  death  once  for  all  in 
some  solemn  hour  of  consecration,  but  we  only  gradually 
come  to  learn  all  that  it  involves.  Self  is  our  greatest  idol ; 
and  it  is  so  ubiquitous,  so  insidious,  so  protean!  Scotched 
in  one  place,  it  breaks  out  in  another.  It  clings  and  twines 
about  things  which  are  innocent  enough  in  themselves, 
but  which  it  transforms  into  idols,  and  then  they  have 
to  be  put  away.  Our  Isaacs  !  our  Rachels  !  our  right 
hands  ! 

Our  only  hope  is  to  be  strong  in  our  choice  of  God. 
The  negative  destruction  of  self  is  unsatisfactory.  We 
must  deliberately  set  ourselves  toward  God.  Our  will 
must  crown  him.  Our  soul  must  make  him  first.  Our  life 
must  be  subdued  to  the  least  syllable  of  his  command.  If 
thou  wouldst  do  this,  peace  would  come  to  thee.  "  If  it 
seem  evil  unto  you  to  serve  the  Lord,  choose  you  this  day 
whom  ye  will  serve ;  whether  the  gods  which  your  fathers 
served  that  were  beyond  the  river,  or  the  gods  of  the 
Amorites,  in  whose  land  ye  dwell :  but  as  for  me  and  my 
house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord." 

The  People's  First  Reply. — They  professed  that  they 
had  no  desire  to  forsake  Jehovah  and  serve  other  gods. 


A  JEALOUS  GOD.  205 

They  freely  acknowledged  that  they  owed  everything  to 
him  from  the  exodus  to  the  possession  of  Canaan.  They 
also  expressed  their  determination  to  serve  the  Lord. 

Joshua's  Answer. — Whether  they  uttered  all  these 
vows  in  thunderous  unison,  or  by  the  mouth  of  chosen  rep- 
resentatives, or  whether  the  historian  gathered  up  thus  the 
consensus  of  their  feeHng  as  it  passed  from  lip  to  lip,  we 
cannot  tell.  But  surely  Joshua  detected  some  traces  of 
insincerity  in  their  voice.  Perhaps  he  felt  the  unreaUty  of 
their  professions  because  they  gave  no  sign  of  abandoning 
their  strange  gods.  Had  he  hoped  for  a  repetition  of  the 
scene  that  had  taken  place  on  that  very  spot  so  many 
years  before,  when  at  the  challenge  of  Jacob  his  house- 
hold gave  unto  him  all  the  strange  gods  which  were  in 
their  hands,  and  the  rings  which  were  in  their  ears,  and 
Jacob  hid  them  beneath  the  oak  which  was  by  Shechem? 
Did  he  expect  that  the  leaders  of  the  people  would  first 
bring  out  their  contributions  to  a  pile  similar  to  that  which, 
in  Christian  centuries,  rose  in  the  great  square  of  Florence, 
at  the  summons  of  Savonarola? 

But  there  was  no  such  response.  The  people  contented 
themselves  with  their  affirmations,  but  made  no  sacrifices. 
There  was  no  holocaust,  and  Joshua  was  deeply  conscious 
of  the  unreality  of  profession  that  went  no  deeper  than 
words.  This,  said  he  in  effect,  is  no  way  to  serve  the 
Lord.  He  is  a  holy  God ;  he  is  a  jealous  God.  He  will 
search  out  these  secret  sins  of  yours ;  he  will  not  be  con- 
tent with  the  service  of  the  lip ;  he  will  not  pass  over 
transgression  and  sin,  even  though  they  be  hidden  in  the 
recesses  of  your  tents  and  the  depths  of  your  hearts. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  good  that  he  has  done  to  you,  he 
will  not  pass  over  the  declensions  and  backshdings  of  his 
people. 


2o6  EVENSONG. 

The  People's  Second  Reply. — They  were  full  of  self- 
confidence,  and  vowed,  come  what  might,  that  they  would 
serve  the  Lord.  There  was  the  energy  of  their  own  self- 
will,  the  strength  of  their  own  resolve,  the  persistent  insist- 
ence on  their  choice  of  Jehovah.  Standing  there  with 
Joshua  they  forgot  the  many  failures  of  the  past,  mocked 
at  his  fears,  derided  his  suggestions  of  possible  declension, 
and  cried,  "  Nay,  but  we  will  serve  the  Lord." 

What  a  commentary  on  those  proud  words  is  given  by 
the  Book  of  Judges  !  Serve  the  Lord  !  The  very  first 
sentence  which  follows  the  record  of  Joshua's  death  in  that 
book  tells  us  that  "  the  children  of  Israel  did  that  which 
was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  served  Baalim; 
and  they  forsook  Jehovah,  the  God  of  their  fathers."  And 
this  record  reciu-s  with  melancholy  monotony  on  nearly 
every  page.  We  are  reminded  of  that  other  scene  when 
beneath  Sinai,  burning  with  fire,  the  people  pledged  them- 
selves to  do  all  that  the  Lord  had  spoken ;  and  within  six 
weeks  were  worshiping  him  under  the  form  of  a  calf,  with 
lascivious  dance. 

In  point  of  fact,  resolution,  however  good  and  however 
strongly  expressed,  is  not  sufiicient  to  carry  us  forward 
into  a  life  of  obedience.  Our  moral  nature  has  become  so 
weakened  by  repeated  failure  that  it  is  not  able  to  resist 
the  appeals  of  sense.  To  will  is  present  with  us,  but  how 
to  perform  that  which  is  good  we  find  not.  No  one  can 
look  thoughtfully  into  the  workings  of  his  own  nature  with- 
out realizing  the  terrible  paralysis  which  has  befallen  it. 
The  will  sits  amid  the  vassals  of  the  inner  realm,  issuing 
commands  which  it  is  not  able  to  enforce,  like  a  puppet- 
king  in  the  midst  of  mighty  chiefs  who  dispute  his  authority. 

Thus  it  is  that  so  often  young  hearts  are  imbittered  with 
disappointment,  because  in  some  high  moment  of  resolve 
they  determine  that  all  Hfe  shall  be  new,  inspired  by  con- 


*'BY  STRENGTH  CAN  NO  MAN  PREl^AIL"      207 

stant  resolve,  and  climbing  with  undeviating  purpose  the 
steeps  of  purity  and  devotion ;  but  when  they  descend  to 
the  plain  of  commonplace,  to  the  routine  of  daily  life,  they 
discover  that  the  impetus  has  died  away,  and  that  the 
power  to  execute  the  high  purpose  of  the  soul  is  gone. 
No;  consecration  is  only  possible  when  it  is  conceived, 
prosecuted,  and  consummated  in  power  not  our  own,  and 
in  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Joshua's  Second  Answer. — "Ye  are  witnesses,"  he 
said,  "  against  yourselves,  that  ye  have  chosen  the  Lord  to 
serve  him."  In  other  words,  he  appealed  to  them  on  the 
ground  of  their  own  asseverations,  and  sought  to  bind  them 
to  the  vows  they  had  made.  Did  he  not  intend  to  probe 
them  deeper,  to  make  them  realize  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion,  to  compel  them  to  face  the  greatness  of  the  re- 
sponsibiHty  they  had  assumed?  By  the  magnitude  of  the 
interests  involved,  by  the  mercies  and  deliverances  of  God, 
by  the  memory  of  their  ancestors,  by  the  great  days  of 
Abraham  and  Isaac,  by  their  own  solemn  protestations, 
he  urged  them  to  be  true. 

The  People's  Third  Reply. — "We  are  witnesses," 
they  cried ;  as  in  after  days  the  people  met  Pilate's  repeated 
challenge  by  the  imprecation  upon  themselves  of  the  blood 
of  Jesus.  Alas,  for  their  self-confident  boast,  for  their 
headstrong  pride  of  purpose!  "By  strength  can  no  man 
prevail."  O  my  soul,  be  warned,  that  when  thou  art  chal- 
lenged as  to  thy  resolves,  thou  makest  thy  boast  in  God ; 
setting  up  thy  banners  in  his  name,  intrenching  thyself 
within  the  circle  of  his  environing  Almightiness.  Only  by 
thy  God  canst  thou  leap  over  a  wall,  or  run  through  a 
troop.  Ask  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bind  thee  by  cords  to  the 
altar  of  self -surrender  by  the  blood-red  cord  of  Calvary ; 


2o8  El^ENSONG. 

by  the  silver  cord  of  hope  in  the  second  Advent ;  by  the 
golden  cord  of  daily  fellowship. 

Joshua's  Response. — Further  words  were  fruitless,  and 
so  he  set  up  a  memorial  of  the  pledges  by  which  the  people 
had  bound  themselves.  He  wrote  their  words  in  the  book 
of  the  law  of  God ;  and  he  took  a  great  stone,  and  set  it 
up  there  under  the  slab.  "  Behold,"  said  he,  "  this  stone 
shall  be  a  witness  against  us ;  for  it  hath  heard  all  the 
words  of  the  Lord  which  He  spake  unto  us :  it  shall  be 
therefore  a  witness  against  you,  lest  ye  deny  your  God." 
Then  he  dismissed  the  people  to  their  homes. 

There  is  Comfort  Suggested  to  us  by  Contrast 
WITH  this  Solemn  Scene. — Even  in  the  Land  of  Promise 
the  people  introduced  the  old  Sinaitic  spirit  of  duty  and 
obedience  as  the  condition  of  their  tenure.  They  had  said 
at  Sinai,  "All  that  the  Lord  says,  we  will  do."  And  they 
said  it  again  in  Canaan.  And  we  are  all  apt  to  make  the 
same  mistake.  We  once  sought  to  justify  ourselves  by  our 
own  efforts,  and  now  we  seek  to  sanctify  oiurselves.  Once 
we  made  resolutions  to  earn  heaven  by  good  works ;  now 
we  make  them  to  maintain  our  vows  of  consecration  intact. 
And  directly  we  essay  to  tread  the  difficult  path  of  sanctifi- 
cation  in  our  own  energy,  and  by  our  own  might,  we  expose 
ourselves  to  endless  misery  and  chagrin.  There  is  no 
thoroughfare  by  this  route.  We  cannot  perfect  in  the  flesh 
that  which  we  began  in  the  Spirit. 

Joshua  did  not  give  the  people  rest.  Had  he  done  so, 
David  would  not  have  spoken  of  another  day.  Canaan 
was  only  the  fype  of  the  Sabbath-keeping  of  the  people  of 
God,  but  did  not  exhaust  it.  At  the  best  it  was  only  a 
material  and  unsatisfying  type.  It  afforded  rest  from  the 
fatigues  of  the  march,  but  not  to  the  infinite  capacities  of 


ENTERING  INTO  REST.  209 

the  soul.  The  produce  of  cornfields  and  vineyards  and 
oliveyards  could  not  appease  the  appetite  for  the  infinite 
that  must  have  made  itself  felt  even  in  the  heart  of  Israel, 
as  the  nation  settled  in  its  God-given  land.  Therefore,  as 
the  Holy  Ghost  tells  us,  there  remained  over  and  above  a 
rest  which  is  open  by  faith  to  the  people  of  God  of  every 
age. 

Notice  the  deep  spiritual  truth  here.  Israel  could  not 
enter  on  the  real  rest  of  God,  because  the  people  persisted 
in  introducing  this  talk  about  what  they  would  or  would 
not  do.  God's  rest  cannot  be  entered  thus.  Though  it 
was  the  leadership  of  Joshua,  it  was  the  spirit  of  Moses, 
And  the  law  can  in  no  shape  or  form  give  rest.  Is  not  this 
why  so  many  Christians  miss  it  still  ?  They  profess  to  be 
under  the  captaincy  of  the  true  Joshua ;  but  they  are  all 
the  while  counting  on  their  own  resolves  and  boasting  their 
own  strength. 

It  is  only  when  we  apprehend  the  provisions  of  the  New 
Covenant,  which  does  mention  man,  but  is  full  of  the  / 
wills  of  God,  that  we  come  into  the  true  blessedness  of  rest 
and  peace.  Not  what  you  do,  but  what  God  will  do ;  not 
your  bow  and  spear,  but  his  right  hand  and  his  holy  arm ; 
not  the  energy  of  your  good  self,  but  the  freeness  of  his 
grace.  When  you  confess  yourself  powerless  to  maintain 
the  attitude  of  consecration,  and  cast  yourself  helplessly  on 
him  to  perform  all  things  in  and  through  you,  realizing  his 
ideals,  and  fulfilling  his  purposes,  and  when  the  entire  bur- 
den is  rehnquished,  and  you  are  content  to  work  out  in 
the  strength  of  his  Spirit  what  he  works  in,  will  you  experi- 
ence the  fullness  of  that  rest  which  is  deep  as  God's,  like 
the  azure  sky  that  slumbers  behind  the  bars  of  gold  which 
incase  the  glory  of  sunset. 

His  task  ^^ided,  Joshua  retired  to  his  inheritance ;  but 
the  influence  of  his  character  and  life  was  felt  as  long  as  he 


210  EVENSONG. 

lived,  and  afterward.  At  last  he  died,  one  hundred  and 
ten  years  old,  and  they  buried  him.  All  Israel  probably 
gathered  to  pay  homage  to  his  memory.  He  richly  merited 
all  the  honor  that  he  received.  He  had  none  of  the  gifts 
of  Moses.  He  may  be  compared  to  the  man  of  two  talents, 
whilst  his  great  master  was  dowered  with  five.  But  he  was 
strong  and  wise  and  true  to  the  great  trust  committed  to 
his  care  by  the  people  and  by  God ;  and  amid  the  stars 
that  shine  in  the  firmament  of  heaven,  not  the  least  bright 
or  clear  is  the  luster  of  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  the  antitype 
of  the  risen  and  ascended  Saviour,  and  whose  worthiest 
epitaph,  as  written  by  a  subsequent  hand,  is — 

JOSHUA, 

the   son   of   nun, 

the  servant  of 

Jehovah. 


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ESSAYS,  ADDRESSES,  Etc. 


CHARLES  F.  AKED 

The  Lord's  Prayer 

Its  Meaning  and  Message  I'o-day,     Net  $i.oo. 

A  series  of  seven  sermons  on  the  Lord's  Prayer  showing 
the  aptness  of  the  requests  to  present  day  life.  It  is  de- 
votional and  expository  and  stimulating,  but  not  exegetical 
nor  technical.  The  application  to  modern  conditions  is  ex- 
ceptionally good, 

J.  RE  ID  HO  WATT 

The  Next  Life 

Light  on  the  Worlds  Beyond.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  $i.eo. 

A  very  practical  discussion  of  the  question  of  life  be- 
yond the  grave — what  can  be  argued  for  it  from  life  and  a 
very  dispassionate  examination  of  what  the  scripture  has 
to  say  on  the  subject  without  reference  to  traditional  theories 
concerning  it.  It  will  be  found  a  most  helpful  and  reassur- 
ing book,  and  will  be  welcomed  by  all  who  honestly  seek 
light. 


R.  A.  TORREY 

The  Holy  Spirit 

As   Revealed  in   the  Scriptures  anfl  in   Personal   Experience. 
i2mo,  cloth,  net  $i.oo 

Dr.  Torrey  has  already  written  upon  this  theme,  but 
never  so  fully  as  in  this  new  volume.  It  will  prove  one  of 
the  author's  most  important  contributions  of  devotional  study. 

JAMES M.  BUCKLEY 

The  Wrong  and  Peril  of  Woman 

Suffrage     i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 

"Dedicated  to  men  and  women  who  look  before  they 
leap." 

"Dr.  Buckley  is  dispassionate,  calm  and  sane.  He  pre- 
sents in  permanent  form  some  of  the  most  logical  thoughts 
in  opposition  to  the  clamor  for  suffrage." — Detroit  Free  Press, 

W.  L.  WATKINSON 


The  Fatal  Barter  and  Other  Sermons 

i2mo,   cloth,  net  $1.00. 
Another  volume  of  sermons  by  the  "preachers'  preacher" 
along   the   lines  he   has   made   so   distinctly  his  own;   rich  in 
illustration  and  quotation  aad  both  refreshing  and  illuauaat> 

tag.  _y 


DEVOTIONAL 


ROBERT  F.  MORTON 

The  Triumphant  Life :    Life,  Warfare 
and  Victory  through  the  Cross 

i6mo.  Cloth,  net  50c. 

The  author,  one  of  the  most  influential  preachers  and  de- 
votional writers,  presents  an  attractive  volume  of  brief 
counsels  on  Faith  and  Duty. 

CHARLES  BROWN 

Lessons  from  the  Cross 

i6mo,  Cloth,  net  50c. 

A  volume  of  remarkable  spiritual  power  which  will  also 
prove   an   incentive   to    further    study   of   this   great   subject. 

MILFORD  HALL  LYON 

For  the  Life  That  Now  Is 

i6mo,   Cloth,  net  7Sc. 

"Emphasizes  the  power  and  presence  of  a  life  hid  with 
Christ  in  God.  It  will  be  a  revelation  to  many  that  there  is 
such  a  correspondence  between  the  needs  of  mankind  and  the 
provisions  of  redeeming  grace." — Reformed  Church  Mes- 
senger. 

HANNAH  WHITALL  SMITH 

The  Christian's  Secret  of  a  Happy  Life 

New  Edition,  with  Decorative  L,ace  Border  and  Lace  Cover 

Design.      lamo.  Cloth,   net  $1.00. 

A  Handsome  New  Gift  Edition  of  this  famous  Christian 
classic,  which  as  a  prominent  writer  once  said  will  "trans- 
form the  dark  days  of  your  life,  as  it  has  transformed  those 
of  thousands  before  you." 

J.  H.  JOWETT 

Our  Blessed  Dead 

i6mo,  Boards,  2sc. 
A  booklet  of  consolation;    suggestive  and  effective. 

CORTLAND  MYERS 

The  Real  Holy  Spirit 

i2mo,  Cloth,  net  soc. 

"To  make  this  unreality  real  and  mighty  in  the  life  of 
the  individual  and  of  the  Church  is  the  purpose  of  this  book, 
tiiat  is  eminently  sane  and  practical,  and  will  appeal  .with 
force  to  every  thoughtful  and  earnest  Christian."— Cftrr»tia»» 
Cuardion. 


BIBLE  STUDY 


G.   CAMPBELL  MORGAN,  P.P. 

The  Analyzed  Bible  '^'SlvhII 

The  Book  of  Genesis 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew 

2  volumes.     i2mo,  cloth,  each  net  $1.00. 

"We  know  of  nothing  just  like  this  in  the  entire  range 
of  exeg^etical  and  theological  literature  and  anticijjate  a  wide 
popularity  for  these  volumes." — United  Presbyterian. 

G.   CAMPBELL  MORGAN,  P.P. 

Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible 

3  vols,  1 2 mo,  cloth,  each  net  $i.oo 

I.  Messages  of  the  Books,  Genesis-Esther. 

II,  Messages  of  the  Books,  Job-Malachi. 

- '  >•-   III.   Messages  of  the  Books,  Matthew-Brevelatlon. 

Tfhis  work  is  quite  distinct  from  the  author's  "Analyzed 
Bible."  Dr.  Morgan  here  presents  in  a  most  scholarly  series 
of  EJxpositions  the  truly  Spiritual  messages  or  Key-notes  of 
each  of  the  separate  books  of  the  Bible,  applying  their  various 
to  the  individual,  the  church  and  the  nation  t0'da3i. 


G.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN,  P.  P. 

The  StudyandTeachingof  th.  EnglishBible 

i6mo,  cloth,  net  soc 

"Dr.  Morgan  has  condensed  in  his  clear,  analytical 
fashion,  a  few  great  principles  about  the  Book,  and  how  to 
make  its  contents  accessible  to  others.  Many  perplexed  but 
earnest  teachers,  especially  of  men's  classes,  will  be  grateful 
for  the  light  it  throws  on  the  heart  of  the  problem  of  teach- 
ing the  Bible,  and  for  its  mental  quickening  and  heart- 
warming qualities." — S.  S.  Times. 

PROR  JAMES  R.  KAYE 

The  Chart  Bible 

Forty-eight  Charts.    i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.50. 

*'An  effort  to  use  the  eye  as  the  doorway  to  the  bettef 
onderstanding  of  the  content  of  the  Bible.  The  principal 
featiire  of  the  book  is  a  series  of  forty-eight  charts  designed 
to  present  the  biblical  movement  in  history  and  doctrine, 
and  thus  to  give  the  reader  a  comprehensive  grasp  of  the 
material." — Continent. 

MRS.  J.  H.  KNOWLES 

Heart  Talks  on  Bible  Themes 

i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

The  author,  having  for  many  years  conducted  a  Bible 
Class  of  some  hundreds  of  young  women  in  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  of  New  York  City,  has  been 
induced  to  put  into  this  permanent  form  a  series  of  her 
most  helpful  Biblical  studies.  They  will  be  found  exceeding- 
ly suggestive  for  devotional  reading. 


)  / 


BS580  .J7M6 

Joshua,  and  the  land  of  promise. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1   1012  00041   3122 


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